Davao City sees events, meets as key in reviving P51-B tourism industry

BRACING FOR REOPENING Tourism workers in Davao City receive their COVID-19 vaccine shots during the recent “Bakuna by the Bay” program at Waterfront Insular Hotel, an initiative to prepare the local tourism industry for full reopening. —BING GONZALES

DAVAO CITY — The local government is mulling the revival of the local tourism industry by attracting meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibits (MICE) events, its biggest drawer of visitors prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

City tourism officer Regina Rosa Tecson said the plan was to first hold the gathering of industry leaders in the country through the Philippine MICE Conference, an event that the local government canceled in 2020 as a precaution against the spread of the virus.

According to Tecson, the event is targeted to be held in October this year, with a meeting being prepared with the city’s tourism promotions board and the organizers.

“The meeting will focus on some important details including whether the setup will be hybrid because we want to show them that we can succeed in holding this setup,” Tecson said.

Losses

The city has positioned itself to be the premier event destination in the country as well as in the Southeast Asian region. In January this year, Tanya Rabat-Tan, Department of Tourism (DOT) director in Davao region, said the government was spearheading the recovery efforts of the industry which lost so much since the start of the pandemic.

In 11 months of 2019, tourist receipts in the city amounted to P51 billion, generated from some 2.34 million arrivals, and the bulk of the income came from the MICE segment. Prior to the pandemic, the city tourism office targeted a 10-percent growth in arrivals in 2020.

The pandemic has depressed the tourism market that two of the city’s large hotels—Marco Polo and Apo View—closed down.

“Even in a crisis we continue to find opportunities on how we can rethink and reshape a more resilient tourism for the future,” said Tan, urging local governments and their respective business groups to ensure that health standards are followed.

The DOT has also been holding training for industry players, including the indigenous communities, so that when tourism activities go full throttle, operations will be seamless and smooth. —CARMELITO Q. FRANCISO

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