NEXT YEAR’S Meetings Incentives Conferences Exhibitions Convention (MICECon), to be held in Davao City in March, will highlight a growing business-leisure tourism trend as the industry bounces back from the pandemic, officials said.
“Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions are the low-hanging fruits on our road to recovery as ‘bleisure’ or the mix of business and leisure travel has emerged as the prevailing trend for the business meetings industry,” Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) Chief Operating Officer Maria Margarita M. Nograles said during last week’s signing ceremony with the Davao City government for the event.
“With cities like Davao, whose business districts are just minutes away from beaches, attractions, and entertainment facilities, we have a great opportunity to bring bigger groups of tourists to our shores,” she said.
Davao’s hosting of the three-day MICECon was first planned three years ago, but was postponed due to an earthquake in the region in 2019, then further pushed back by the coronavirus pandemic.
Davao City Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Z. Duterte said the event will be a big boost to the tourism industry of the city and Davao Region’s five provinces as well as open investment and business partnership opportunities.
“Next time the people will think about business and leisure they will think of Davao because the city has the infrastructure, tourism attractions, and capacity to hold both national and international events,” he said.
MICECon 2023, scheduled from March 1 to 3, will be a hybrid event with about 500 delegates expected to attend the in-person activities and 1,000 virtual participants.
“MICECon provides the host city with not just arrivals but quality arrivals because the delegates attending the conference are no ordinary travelers. They are tourism, trade, and MICE practitioners with influence in their fields,” Ms. Nograles said.
“This is why it is crucial for the chosen host destination to show its best foot forward, so to speak,” she added. — Maya M. Padillo