CEBU is expected to reap high revenues with upcoming big-ticket events in aviation next year.
Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat announced that besides the 2019 Routes Asia in March 2019, Cebu will also host the Centre for Aviation Low-Cost Carrier (Capa LCC) North Asia Summit in June.
According to Puyat, these two events alone will boost Cebu’s position as a prime meetings, incentive, convention and exhibition (Mice) events destination in the country. It will also expose the province’s natural tourism jewels to a high-end market.
“These two big events are important for Cebu, as we will be showcasing the province to a sophisticated crowd,” said Tourism 7 Director Shahlimar Tamano.
High-profile guests, especially the chief executive officers (CEOs) attending these summits, may bring with them their families. Tamano said they expect high receipts to be recorded in rooms, food and beverage, tours and retail sectors.
Puyat was in Cebu over the weekend to meet with local tourism stakeholders. It was her first meeting with them since she assumed as the tourism chief last May.
Routes Asia is the largest routes development forum in the region. It brings together airlines, airports and their stakeholders to discuss air services to, from and within Asia.
Capa LCC Summit, on the other hand, attracts C-level airline delegates and speakers from across Asia. The summit, which will discuss key opportunities and challenges in the aviation industry, will be attended by North Asia’s low-cost carrier CEOs as well as other senior executives from across the aviation value chain.
Puyat said hosting big-ticket events is a good opportunity to sell Cebu and the Philippines to the world. It is also for this reason she is going around the country to emphasize her office’s stand on sustainable tourism.
“The culture of sustainable tourism has to be embedded in all destinations of the country,” she said.
The Department of Tourism (DOT) targets to invite 40 Mice organizers and assist 140 Mice events this year.
Puyat said Cebu plays a critical role in the country’s Mice development, noting the presence of its international airport, good food, warm hospitality, proximity to other islands like Bohol and its minutes-away drive to beaches sum up a good package to offer to the Mice market.
To push the country’s standing in the global Mice market, Puyat said they will need to accelerate infrastructure improvements, develop highly competitive human resources, and strengthen research and development.
Meanwhile, she thanked the stakeholders for their proactive efforts in helping the DOT in rebooking affected guests of the Boracay closure to other destinations in the country.
Amid the Boracay closure, Puyat said foreign tourist arrivals to the country rose by 9.74 percent to 4.3 million from January to July this year.
Puyat said they expected arrivals to drop, as the island was closed by the government at the height of summer. But thanks to Cebu, expected losses in terms of arrivals where offset, she said.