City Sports Club to get P76-M facelift; MICE market eyed

THE Ayala-run City Sports Club in Cebu City is investing P76 million to upgrade its facilities with an eye to get a bigger share of the growing market for  meetings,incentives, conventions and expositions (MICE).

“The scope of the renovation project includes the Sinulog Ballroom which we started in October last year and has already been completed. The board rooms are now in the Nook area which we started in March this year,” said Francis Monera, chairman of the City Sports Club.

He said the timing was right because of a  growing demand for function rooms in Cebu especially in strategic areas like the Cebu Business Park where the 11-year-old City Sports Club is located.

Other facilities under renovation are the gym, swimming pool and the garden, lobby and driveway which will be completed by the first quarter of 2013.

“The number of establishments around the park is growing as well as the number of international conventions  held here in Cebu. That is the market we want to tap once we  complete the first phase of the renovations,” said Monera.

The Sinulog ballroom can accommodate up to 450 people. Meeting rooms can handle a  core group meeting of 10 people.

More investments for quality banquet facilities are needed in Cebu to tap the  rich MICE  market. said  Rowena Montecillo, regional director of the Department of Tourism (DOT).

“We have a lot of international conventions being held in Cebu. This means that facilities should also be world class to cater to their demands,” she said in a separate interview.

She said the number of tourists who come here classified under the MICE  segment can’t  be quantified for now.

Montecillo said the DOT has to  ask stakeholders to   help set up a monitoring system and report the type of guests they have and the purpose of their visit.

“We know there are a  number of events, especially the international ones, but we don’t have quantifiable data. That is one area we are looking to develop. We will be sitting down with the private sector so that we can also talk about the incentives that will encourage them to bring in more groups,” said Montecillo./Reporter Aileen Garcia-Yap