Hotelier Indonesia - Hospitality Investment Conference Philippines (16 – 17 February 2017)
Uncovering your next hospitality investment opportunity in the Philippines
About the conference
Thank you for being a part of the inaugural Hospitality Investment Conference Philippines 2016.
The two-day conference brought together close to 200 decision makers from 8 different countries with the same goal of understanding what opportunities in the hospitality sector the Philippine market has to offer. We had the honour of having Undersecretary Benito Bengzon Jr. of the Department of Tourism deliver the opening ministerial address.
The conference began on a note of optimism as Usec. Bengzon shared the good news that tourism in the Philippines is growing at a faster rate than the global average. Tourism revenue reached about USD 6 billion – thanks to higher expenditure and longer stays. The next few years will see a more equitable distribution of tourist traffic across the country as the government’s lliberalised civil aviation policy results in more visitor traffic to other gateways such as Mactan-Cebu, Kalibo, Clark and Davao.
“These are just some of the investment areas,” Usec Bengzon pointed out to the conference, “that will be accessible to more international flights from short and long-haul markets and which you may want to seriously consider for investment.” He also asked the conference attendees to consider the notion of the Philippines being the 16th largest economy in the world by 2050 – a forecast made by HSBC.
Day 1 of the program featured engaging panels such as the Hotel Operators’ Perspective on having fun amidst Philippine hospitality; what’s trending next from the Developers’ Perspective; delivering value at a budget in the Philippines; expanding the Serviced Apartment foot print in Asia; distribution via the internet and social media. At the end of the day’s proceedings,
Conference Chairperson – Cyndy Jarabata of Tajara Leisure & Hospitality – cited 3 key takeaways. Firstly, the rise of the middle class, leading to a sizeable domestic tourism market is a big deal and is to be taken seriously. That could easily come up to about 63% of the work force having the propensity to spend tourism dollars, she reminded the delegation.
Secondly, the sentiment of owner-managed hotel properties being more profitable than 3rd-party-managed ones – could this be a transient trend in this day and age of changes? Thirdly, hotel owners and operators are to seriously contemplate the reality of having to keep up with the new generation of millennial travellers – it is no longer a generation gap, it is a way of life.
Organisations present at the event included Accor, Aidea Inc., Apple One Properties Inc., AyalaLand Hotels & Resorts Corp., Alenter Resort Hotels Corporation, Blink Design Group, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, Central Hospitality Ltd., Club Med Resort Group, Commune Hotels + Resorts, Dusit International, FRHI Hotels & Resorts, Filinvest Hospitality, Frasers Hospitality, Grand Land Inc., Hard Rock International, IHG, Langham Hospitality Group, LBL Prime Properties Inc., Miaja Design Group, Melia Hotels International, Moevenpick Hotels & Resorts, Oak Drive Capital, Oracle Hospitality, Pertlink Ltd, Plateno Hotels Group, PTC Holdings, QUO, Resorts World Manila, Robinsons Land Corp., SM Hotels & Conventions Corp., Starwood Hotels & Resorts, STR Global, Tiger Resort Leisure & Entertainment Inc., Tourism Infrastructure & Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA), Ubiq Global Solutions, Vanguard Hotels, YWS Design and more. The conference saw abundant networking activities during stints such as the speed networking and cocktail sessions, as well as spontaneous moments during the refreshment and luncheon breaks.
Batman arrived on Conference Day 2 to open the day’s program and promptly handed over to Day 2 Chairperson – Bill Barnett of C9 Hotelworks. Day 2 featured yet another exciting line-up of panels including the Gaming Panel, Contract Negotiation, Hotel Branded Residences, Destinations and the finale of the Industry Personality Interview which had Frederick D. Go of Robinsons Land Corp. in the hot seat. In an informal setting opposite Wilson Flores Lee of The Philippine Star, he gave sound, albeit humorous, commercial advice to the attendees.
As you look through this post event report, we urge you to use this as a measure of our effectiveness in helping you reach your target audience in this regional sector. Referring to the attendee analysis, media coverage and pictures of the event, we hope you will be convinced that we are your ideal partner in your continual expansion into the Philippines in the 2017 edition of HICP. We would like to thank our sponsors and partners for your support in making this event a success and look forward to being the mainstay event in the Philippine hospitality landscape.
Thank you, and see you on the 16 - 17 Feb 2017!
