CLARK FREEPORT – This year’s international conference on meetings, intensive travel, conventions, events and exhibitions (MICE) – dubbed as the country’s annual tourism event – opens here Wednesday and last up to June 7.
The Clark Development Corp. (CDC) said about 600 MICE practitioners have arrived for the event at the Fontana Convention Center & Fontana Hot Spring Leisure Park inside this freeport.
“MICE conference will bring approximately 40 select international MICE buyers from Australia, China, Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, United Kingdom, Germany, Poland and Russia and another 10 local corporate buyers primarily during a one-day buyer-seller business exchange or MICE mart,” the CDC also said.
CDC President-CEO Arthur Tugade expressed hope that the holding of MICE here would boost tourism in this freeport and surrounding communities. He noted that this is the first time for Clark to host MICE. Last year, the annual
conference was hosted by Davao City.
Tugade said that gatherings such as MICE have helped boost Clark as “a viable trade and investment link to Asia and the rest of the world.” He noted that only recently CDC signed an agreement with Capilion Corp. of Singapore which vowed to invest P7 billion here and open some 70,000 employment opportunities.
The continuing investment growth in this former US military base was one of the reasons why MICE organizers considered Clark as venue for their conference this year. “Clark is the only freeport in the country where anything an investor needs can be reached within about seven to 10 minutes,” Tugade boasted. .
The MICE annual conference has been described as “an industry platform for learning and business opportunities.
“It’s learning from experts on new trends, approaches, methods and insights as well as drawing inspiration and energy from their message to reach and fulfi l new heights for the Philippine MICE and tourism industry,” the CDC said.
The Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) is the lead agency in the conference here. The CDC also said the conference “will focus on plenary discussions and lectures about industry-specific topics on meetings, incentive travel, and exhibitions marketing as well as leadership, innovation, business and technology, association management, food,
creativity, communication, personal/ organizational development and Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) integration and its effect on the region’s economy.”
