1. ICT to be highlighted
in Cebu Business Month
By Jenalyn M. Rubio
CWP Reporter
April 25, 2006
WITH the theme “Invest Cebu,” this year’s Cebu Business Month (CBM) will highlight
opportunities in the field of information and communications technology (ICT) and
tourism in hopes of drawing more investors to the city.
Now on its 11th year, the CBM is an annual trade and industry festival organized by
the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) which provides a venue for
entrepreneurs, local and foreign investors, tourists, and local and national
government executives to form ties and promote Cebu’s products and services. The
event is slated to be held on June 21 to 23 at the Waterfront Hotel.
“At the core of the celebration is the promotion of tourism and ICT, which would
showcase Cebu as the hot spot for investment in tourism and ICT nationwide as well
as to the international markets,” said Francis Monera, CCCI president during the CBM
launching and press conference yesterday.
CBM 2006 is a call for more investors especially in ICT and tourism, to locate and
invest in Cebu, said Wilson Ng, CBM chairman for this year. The highlight of the
month-long celebration is the three-day conference and exhibit called “InTourPreneur
2006” with the theme “Participating and Investing in Greater Cebu’s Twin-Win
Industries.”
InTourPreneur or Information Technology and Tourism Entrepreneur will be the
combination of two major events in ICT and tourism that the chamber used to hold
separately, the Cebu ICT and the Tourism Congress. While the theme of
InTourPreneur highlights Cebu’s two winning industries—ICT and tourism, an
important sub-theme is the promotion of entrepreneurship and small-to-medium
enterprises (SME), said Ng.
The organizers expect to generate over 1,400 delegates and over 25,000 exhibit
viewers. Among the activities in the three-day event are: an exhibit that will
showcase the latest products, services, and trends in the IT industry; an inter-school
ICT quiz bowl; an ICT job fair; and the 6th Cebu Web Awards where students and
professional Web developers compete to design the best Web site on the spot.
The event will also present a main conference plenary which will discuss growth and
opportunities in Cebu. There will also be break-out sessions where participants can
choose which tracks to attend among the ICT, tourism, investment and franchising,
or health and wellness congress.