Davao City eyes law to boost Mice

THE Davao City Government is planning to make the city a major meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions (Mice) destination in the Philippines and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) region by coming up with an ordinance institutionalizing the conduct of Mice events in the city.

City Tourism Operations Office (CTOO) head Generose Tecson said in a press conference that the ordinance will include the creation of the Davao City Mice Board and Davao City MICE Bureau that will be tasked in promoting.

The concept for a Mice Bureau, she said, was based on their tour in Singapore, Malaysia, and Japan, wherein they learned the best practice of these countries in the tourism industry, including having their own bureau who will focus on institutionalizing Mice events.

"The aim for Davao City is to become the premiere Mice destination in the country and the Asean region," Tecson said.

The official also said one of its functions is for the selling and data analytics for Mice events in the city.

"Magko-concentrate lang siya doon sa Mice (The Mice Bureau will concentrate on other functions) such as data analytics, sales, how to sell Davao as a Mice destination and promotion," she said.

Tecson said the University of Santo Tomas College of Tourism and Hospitality Management turned over the Davao City Mice Strategic Management Plan to the city, which will serve as a directional plan for the city's Mice Programs.

The lack of data analytics, she said, made it difficult for the city to determine the financial contribution of the MICE events in the city's economy.

But she said that they noted an increase of major Mice Events being held in the city since President Rodrigo Duterte assumed the highest national post in 2016. The number of visitors also increased.

Tecson said that in 2019, the estimated tourist receipts was at P39 billion. She said 80 percent are attributed to tourists attending Mice Events. However, it plunged in 2021 to P3.9 billion.

Meanwhile, Tecson said the city, currently under Alert Level 1, is now gearing toward hosting more conventions and one of them is the most anticipated Mice Convention (MICECon) 2022 slated in November this year.

MICECon is the biggest and most highly anticipated gathering of professionals in the fields of travel, tourism, and MICE practitioners in the Philippines.

The event was supposed to be slated in 2020 after the city won the bid in 2019, but was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. A total of 500 participants are expected to attend the event.

She also said the MICECon will showcase the city’s preparedness in conducting Mice events both face-to-face and hybrid.