Cebu hotel upbeat on MICE prospects
Marco Polo Plaza Cebu is banking on the potential of the meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibition(MICE) market as it aims to double its revenue contribution to its business this year.
On the sidelines of the Marco Polo Hotels business lunch last week, Marco Polo Plaza Cebu general manager Brian Connelly told The
STAR the MICE market accounts for 10 to 15 percent of its business.
“We’d like to double that to around 30 percent,” he said.
Connelly said MICE clients allow the hotel to generate more income as compared to regular tourists, as these groups would also need accommodation requirements apart from booking the ballroom or function room for the planned MICE events.
He said Cebu offers MICE groups great value, given the various activities Cebu has to offer, apart from hosting MICE events.
“We’ve got a brand-new ballroom, we’re on an island that has beaches, ziplining, whale sharks,” Connelly said.
Marco Polo’s grand ballroom can sit 800 dinner guests and accommodate up to 1,200 for cocktails. The hotel began renovation of the ballroom in 2015, upgrading its capacity from catering to only 500 guests.
Connelly said majority or 80 percent of its MICE clients are from the domestic market, while around 10 percent is from other Asian countries, particularly Hong Kong and Singapore.
He expressed optimism on the growth of the country’s MICE market especially with the Department of Tourism (DOT)’s support for the growing business segment.
Tourism Undersecretary Benito Bengzon said the department aims to roll out a MICE roadmap this year.
The roadmap will help the country’s hotel sector gear up for larger accommodation requirements from MICE clients.
“We would like to see our MICE industry getting to that level, meaning we can easily accommodate MICE groups of 5,000 to 10,000 like what we’re seeing in Macau, Seoul, Hong Kong and Singapore,” Bengzon said.
Last November, the DOT together with the Board of Investments signed an agreement with the Philippine Association of Convention/ Exhibition Organizers and Suppliers Inc. for the crafting of the MICE industry roadmap.