Cebu bids for MICE Conference 2011

Dr. Robert Lim Joseph of the Tourism Educators and Movers Philippines announces Cebu’s official bid to host the 2011 MICE Conference. Joseph is seen here with Department of Tourism Region 7 Director Dawnie Roa.

Cebu City – Cebu will be showcasing its best in Subic next month as it bids to host the Meetings, Incentives, Conventions, and Exhibitions (MICE) Conference in 2011, a gathering of international and domestic incentive tour operators and industry stakeholders.

No less than the Cebu Provincial Government is sponsoring the activity that kicks off the official bidding of the province in hosting the highly-important tourism gathering. The presentation of Cebu will be done in February during the MICE Congress 2010 in Subic.

“This is very important for Cebu because we will be able to further promote the province to international tourism operators who are offering incentive packages,” said National Association of Independent Travel Agencies (Naitas) Chairman Emeritus Robert Lim Joseph.

During the weekly 888 News Forum at the Marco Polo Plaza Hotel, Joseph said that while no one is up to bid against Cebu for the 2011 hosting, the province, together with the Department of Tourism in Central Visayas will have to host the event in Subic to give a teaser to what Cebu will be offering in 2011.

The event gathers international and domestic tour operators, especially those who are in the MICE business, to do a business-to-business meeting. There will also be seminars and lectures on how to effectively handle MICE tourists, said Joseph.

DoT 7 Regional Director Dawnie Roa said Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia will personally go to Subic to give a short talk on what Cebu has to offer. The short talk will be followed by a series of audi-visual presentations and a brief glance of the province’s most successful tourism program, the Suroy-Suroy Sugbo.

Garcia has pledged R500,000 while the DoT will be coming up with R300,000 to be used during the presentation and the official bidding of the province in hosting the MICE Congress 2011.

“We will be putting up our booths showcasing what Cebu can offer. We will also give a teaser to participants to entice them to come to MICE Congress 2011 in Cebu,” said Roa.

International tourism players are expected to attend the MICE Conference to discuss the current market situation and the business opportunities for the $300-billion global MICE industry.

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