The Department of Tourism (DOT) is banking on meetings, incentives, conventions, and exhibitions (MICE) to revive the tourism industry in Eastern Visayas crippled by two years of pandemic restrictions.

DOT Eastern Visayas Regional Director Karina Rosa Tiopes said a single MICE event could bring in hundreds of guests to an area to raise the income of several tourism-related business owners.

“Through visitors’ expenditures, it generates income to our tourism businesses like restaurants and other local business. This is the reason why we have been encouraging our three MICE corridors to enhance their hosting facilities to attract more MICE events,” Tiopes told the Philippine News Agency (PNA).

The three MICE corridors in the region are Tacloban City and the nearby town of Palo, Leyte; Baybay City and Ormoc City in northwestern of Leyte province, and Catbalogan City and Calbayog City in Samar.

MICE events refer to activities such as business meetings, congresses, conventions, incentive trips, product presentations, business courses, conferences, and seminars.

In the region, MICE events held this year included the Visayas area business conference, some sporting events, the Rotary Club district conference, the Regional Conference of Youth – Asia and the Pacific, and other national conferences of non-government organizations.

Tiopes is eyeing the immediate completion of a convention center and sports complex in Baybay City in the bid to attract more large gatherings in the region.

“We are looking at improvements of our hosting facilities. We know the importance of MICE events when it comes to bringing more arrivals to our places,” she added. (PNA)