Clark aims to be MICE hub with SMX Convention Center

*SMX Convention Center Clark officially opened on May 24. — COMPANY HANDOUT*

FOUR THOUSAND square meters (sq.m.) of leasable space and a location in a burgeoning MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions) capital are the selling points of the new SMX Convention Center in Clark, Pampanga.

SMX Convention Center Clark, which was originally set to open two years ago, finally opened on May 24.

“We were having a lot of demand for having a conference facility or an exhibition facility in the North of NCR (National Capital Region),” SM Hotels and Conventions Corp. (SMHCC) Senior Vice-President for Operations Walid Wafik said during a press conference prior to the ribbon-cutting ceremony and tour. “That’s when the idea of SMX Clark came on board, and we were supported fully by SM and by the top management to allow us to have an SMX branch.”

The SMX Convention Center in Clark is the second stand-alone convention center after SMX Manila.

There are also SMX facilities in Olongapo, Bacolod, Manila, SM Aura and Davao.

A smaller one in Cebu called the Skyhall also exists. SMHCC Executive Vice-President Peggy E. Angeles said a full-fledged SMX Convention Center will be up in Cebu in four years.

The latest SMX Convention Center is located within the SM City Clark complex, near the mall and Park Inn Radisson Clark. It boasts three trade halls, three function rooms, and 14 meeting rooms.

“The great formula that we have come to, which is by the mall, our main locator; and then we complement the mall with having a hotel, with having a convention center. This is to augment foot traffic and more business for the entire compound,” Mr. Wafik said.

Ann Olalo, Park Inn by Radisson general manager, said Clark’s location is very convenient for exhibitions and conferences.

“We get feedback from our key accounts that Clark seems to be the most convenient, most accessible destination if they want to have conferences and events outside Manila,” she said.

Dennis Legaspi, Clark Development Corp. (CDC) vice-president for engineering services, said Clark will soon be launched as a MICE destination in the Philippines.

Meanwhile, the waning pandemic of two years and counting has made SMX Convention Center executives more mindful of health and safety precautions.

SMX Convention Center Clark Senior Branch Manager Miguel Morato said each facility now undergoes misting, wipe-downs and washdowns before and after every event. Antivirus and antibacterial handrails and fixtures are installed in the elevators.

“These are the new norms that we will carry on,” said Mr. Wafik. — Joseph L. Garcia

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The article was originally published in Business World.