With the growing Philippine economy boosting demand for convention and events space, the SM group seeks to cement its leading role in this burgeoning segment with the rollout of a new SMX Convention Center inside the newly opened SM Aura Premier complex in Taguig City.
The third SMX Convention Center in Taguig offers 6,358 square meters of convention and space with gross leasable area at 2,209 sqm.
It has three function rooms that can seat anywhere from 250 to 2,250 people and eight meeting rooms that can accommodate anywhere from 36 to 255 people.
“By putting up SMX Taguig, we will be addressing the venue requirements in the eastern part of Manila particularly for venues catering to corporate meetings and association chapter and regional conferences,” said SMX Convention Specialist Corp. general manager Dexter Deyto.
“SMX Taguig will carry the same brand values that SMX is known for: excellent location, extraordinary facilities and exceptional service by its team of highly trained event professionals,” Deyto said.
The flagship SMX in Manila, on the other hand, is seen continuing to cater to large annual conventions. Deyto noted that SMX Manila continued to enjoy a high repeat rate of 75-80 percent of events held at the convention center yearly.
After establishing SMX in Manila, Taguig and Pasig, the SM group is now studying to bring the SMX brand to North Luzon and the Visayas before 2015.
In North Luzon, still “in the drawing boards” is the possibility of bringing SMX to Clark, Pampanga, Deyto said. He added that this could push through ahead of the Philippines’ hosting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) Summit.
As Southeast Asia moves toward creating an integrated market by 2015, Deyto said this could present a lot of opportunities for the Philippine convention space industry.
He said this was also in line with the Philippines’ move to harness tourism as a key growth driver. “We’re teaming up with DOT (Department of Tourism) to bring more of those MICE—meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions—to the Philippines,” Deyto said.
Apart from the three SMX locations, Deyto’s unit also handles the Megatrade center in Megamall and Cebu Trade Hall. These five locations bring the SM group’s total leasable convention and exhibit hall space to 34,728 sqm.
SMX is seen as an alternative to hotel ballrooms and an addition to the space offered by PICC and World Trade Center. One advantage of using SMX as a venue, Deyto said, is its array of accredited caterers unlike the hotels, which only offer their own food.
SMX Convention, as a sub-segment of SM Hotels and Convention group, has turned profitable since 2009 and the launch of additional space will cater to the needs of the growing economy, Deyto said.