After 19 years, the Philippines is once again hosting the
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit on November 18 and 19.
Organized in 1989, the APEC aims to foster economic prosperity among Pacific Rim economies, with heavyweight members like the United States, Japan, Australia, China and Russia.
When the Philippines hosted the 4th APEC Summit in November 1996, the Ramos administration chose Subic Bay as the venue and made it presentable and comfortable to the foreign dignitaries.
The leaders met in a brand-new building equipped with state-of-the-art conference facilities. Several cabanas were even built to the specifications of their guests, who used them for, at most, only four hours.
This month, APEC economic leaders will meet at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC), Asia's first international convention center, which had set a trend that led other countries to build their own convention centers.
According to PICC's website, the convention center was designed by Filipino National Artist in Architecture Leandro Locsin. The PICC Complex formally opened on September 5, 1976 to host the World Bank's International Monetary Fund Annual Meeting.
After the event, the PICC established itself as one of the most versatile event arenas in the Asia-Pacific region by being the venue of political summits, medical conventions, and performances of international artists as varied as Luciano Pavarotti, the Bolshoi Ballet, Ricky Martin and Burt Bacharach.
Built on reclaimed land along scenic Manila Bay in the Philippine capital, the PICC has more than 70,000 square meters of floor area and a range of facilities that can accommodate even large gatherings.
The PICC has five building modules: the Delegation Building, Secretariat Building, Plenary Hall, Reception Hall, and The Forum. These modules are versatile enough to be transformed into almost any number of settings for any kind of exhibition, convention or special event.
Strategically located at the heart of Manila, the PICC is also an architectural landmark that houses the paintings and sculptures of various Filipino masters.
It is a few minutes away from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport and is close to major hotels, shopping malls, and other interesting tourist spots in Manila.
The center is a WiFi zone and has an IT Support team on hand to cater to IT requirements of organizers, such as wired and wireless Internet connectivity, virtual private network (VPN), web casting, and video conferencing.
All functions and meeting rooms have dedicated wired and wireless local area network control by unified tread management (UTM) for Internet bandwidth speed allocation.
The PICC is well-secured with round-the-clock closed circuit television cameras (CCTV). It is also equipped with baggage X-ray machines and metal detectors. Roving security guards ensure safety and security in and around the venues.
Organized in 1989, the APEC aims to foster economic prosperity among Pacific Rim economies, with heavyweight members like the United States, Japan, Australia, China and Russia.
When the Philippines hosted the 4th APEC Summit in November 1996, the Ramos administration chose Subic Bay as the venue and made it presentable and comfortable to the foreign dignitaries.
The leaders met in a brand-new building equipped with state-of-the-art conference facilities. Several cabanas were even built to the specifications of their guests, who used them for, at most, only four hours.
This month, APEC economic leaders will meet at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC), Asia's first international convention center, which had set a trend that led other countries to build their own convention centers.
According to PICC's website, the convention center was designed by Filipino National Artist in Architecture Leandro Locsin. The PICC Complex formally opened on September 5, 1976 to host the World Bank's International Monetary Fund Annual Meeting.
After the event, the PICC established itself as one of the most versatile event arenas in the Asia-Pacific region by being the venue of political summits, medical conventions, and performances of international artists as varied as Luciano Pavarotti, the Bolshoi Ballet, Ricky Martin and Burt Bacharach.
Built on reclaimed land along scenic Manila Bay in the Philippine capital, the PICC has more than 70,000 square meters of floor area and a range of facilities that can accommodate even large gatherings.
The PICC has five building modules: the Delegation Building, Secretariat Building, Plenary Hall, Reception Hall, and The Forum. These modules are versatile enough to be transformed into almost any number of settings for any kind of exhibition, convention or special event.
Strategically located at the heart of Manila, the PICC is also an architectural landmark that houses the paintings and sculptures of various Filipino masters.
It is a few minutes away from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport and is close to major hotels, shopping malls, and other interesting tourist spots in Manila.
The center is a WiFi zone and has an IT Support team on hand to cater to IT requirements of organizers, such as wired and wireless Internet connectivity, virtual private network (VPN), web casting, and video conferencing.
All functions and meeting rooms have dedicated wired and wireless local area network control by unified tread management (UTM) for Internet bandwidth speed allocation.
The PICC is well-secured with round-the-clock closed circuit television cameras (CCTV). It is also equipped with baggage X-ray machines and metal detectors. Roving security guards ensure safety and security in and around the venues.
The PICC complex has ample parking spaces and
can accommodate as many as 400 vehicles.
In June this year, the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA), a 1,000-member, Amsterdam-based world body, modestly ranked the Philippines in terms of attracting international events.
The PICC's marketing and events management director, Dinah Gonzalez, has expressed optimism about the country's international association events status.
“We hope that we (in the Philippines) will further improve our standing in the ICCA report by next year, considering that we went down by one notch in 2014 (from 49th in 2013 to 50th in 2014),” Gonzalez said.
However, the Philippine events industry and its ICCA ranking can improve, she said, citing “the country’s robust economy, improved peace and order situation; hotels and infrastructure developments; new roads for access and connectivity, and upgraded airports”.
The nation’s growing popularity as a tourist attraction “should (also) help boost our collective efforts towards attracting more international associations to choose the Philippines for their events", Gonzalez added.
More importantly, the Philippines could improve its standing with the nation’s hosting of the upcoming APEC leaders’ meetings, she explained.
The nation can build on this achievement, Gonzalez said.
“We should definitely capitalize on the international exposure that our hosting of the APEC meetings would bring,” she said.
As the country holds its elections next year, the integrated marketing communications programs of the Department of Tourism must be carried over to the next administration, as these campaigns have proven to be effective in promoting the country globally, Gonzalez added. (PNA/PCOO News Release)
In June this year, the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA), a 1,000-member, Amsterdam-based world body, modestly ranked the Philippines in terms of attracting international events.
The PICC's marketing and events management director, Dinah Gonzalez, has expressed optimism about the country's international association events status.
“We hope that we (in the Philippines) will further improve our standing in the ICCA report by next year, considering that we went down by one notch in 2014 (from 49th in 2013 to 50th in 2014),” Gonzalez said.
However, the Philippine events industry and its ICCA ranking can improve, she said, citing “the country’s robust economy, improved peace and order situation; hotels and infrastructure developments; new roads for access and connectivity, and upgraded airports”.
The nation’s growing popularity as a tourist attraction “should (also) help boost our collective efforts towards attracting more international associations to choose the Philippines for their events", Gonzalez added.
More importantly, the Philippines could improve its standing with the nation’s hosting of the upcoming APEC leaders’ meetings, she explained.
The nation can build on this achievement, Gonzalez said.
“We should definitely capitalize on the international exposure that our hosting of the APEC meetings would bring,” she said.
As the country holds its elections next year, the integrated marketing communications programs of the Department of Tourism must be carried over to the next administration, as these campaigns have proven to be effective in promoting the country globally, Gonzalez added. (PNA/PCOO News Release)
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