The Department of Tourism (DOT) regional office here is upbeat about the growth of meetings, incentives, conventions, and exhibitions (MICE) tourism in Eastern Visayas with more organizations capable of handling large gatherings in the region.

DOT Eastern Visayas regional director Karina Rosa Tiopes said there are more groups tapping the services of their office to help them organize or welcome guests of MICE events.

“Even the local governments have already noticed that recently, many groups have asked for assistance to hold MICE activities. We are confident that our stakeholders, both in the private and government sectors, are capable of hosting MICE events,” she said in an interview Monday.

Last year, the region recorded 832 MICE events with 210,487 attendees. This is four times more than what was logged in 2023, as more local tourism offices are reporting about MICE gatherings.

“We see MICE as the number one form of tourism that will bring in more people. Through visitors’ expenditures, it generates income for our tourism businesses like restaurants and other local businesses. This is the reason why we have been encouraging our three MICE corridors to enhance their hosting facilities to attract more MICE events,” she added.

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