By Louella D. Desiderio (The
Philippine Star) | Updated August 18, 2014 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines - The local
government of Cebu is urged to come up with a strategic plan to position the
province as a regional hub for meetings and conventions, the Department of
Trade and Industry (DTI) said.
Trade Secretary Gregory Domingo
believes Cebu has the potential to become a hub for meetings and conventions
being held in the Southeast Asian region.
“Cebu, I think can be a regional hub for
conventions. I think it has more chances than Manila,” he told reporters
recently.
To realize the province’s potential as
a regional hub for conventions, Domingo said the local government needs to work
on a strategic plan.
“Cebu has to aspire to become a
regional hub. It has to build more hotels. It has to push national government
to build a bridge that will link the province to Bohol,” he said.
Cebu is being pushed as a regional hub
for conventions given strong interest from foreign investors, as well as
upcoming developments in the province.
Domingo said a lot of foreign
investors have expressed interest to visit the province.
“Cebu is a more manageable city
because it is small. The perception foreigners have is that it is less
complicated in Cebu,” he said.
Apart from serving as a venue for
conventions, Cebu also has resorts which delegates could visit right after
their meetings.
“If it (Cebu) can be linked to Bohol,
then you have a variety of choices,” Domingo said.
Cebu is likewise seen as a viable hub
for meetings and conventions in the region as the Mactan-Cebu International
Airport (MCIA) is undergoing an upgrade.
The MCIA expansion project is the
first airport project to be awarded under the government’s Public-Private
Partnership program.
Filipino-owned Megawide Construction
Corp. and Bangalore-based GMR Airports Ltd. bagged the contract to undertake
the MCIA expansion project.
The joint venture aims to transform
the country’s second busiest airport into the world’s first resort airport.
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