EUROPEAN COMPANIES IN GROWTH
Cebu City, July 08, 2021 – Since its inception, the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines’ first regional office in Cebu has marked an impressive growth, increasing its membership up to 25%, greater than ever after thirty years. ECCP opened its first regional office in Cebu in 1990, geared towards expanding its reach in the country. Cebu, the commercial capital of Visayas, had rich potential in business and investment.
The Chamber started strongly in the region with the majority of members coming from the creative industries such as furniture, fashion, and accessories. The said industries contributed significantly to export and international trade by means of representation and participation.
Currently, the ECCP Cebu’s members now come from even more diverse sectors including tourism, real estate, ICT-BPM-KPM, food and beverage, manufacturing, and creative industries among others. This complements the continuous infrastructure development and the lively workforce of the province. The remarkable growth in membership shows that Cebu is among the preferred destinations for many European companies looking to expand their business operations. With a very supportive local government and vast profile of office spaces designed to accommodate operational requirements, Cebu has indeed emerged as one of the key cities for European companies to do business in.
As the pandemic continues, Cebu has taken measures to adapt to the new normal in order to bring back business and commerce in the city. “New normal arrived early in Cebu and it shows in the sheer number of companies organizing behind ECCP,” newly elected ECCP President Lars Wittig shared after his recent trip to the province.
Wittig met with the ECCP Cebu Business Council in an intimate lunch meeting, in strict observance of health and safety protocols, to discuss industry updates, current status, and action plan to address current challenges, best practices, and possible synergies.
ECCP Cebu has created a name for itself other than a regional office through its advocacy initiatives, working towards actionable solutions for a better business environment for both European and Filipino companies alike in the region. In 2019, it encouraged the government to continue expanding its infrastructure development and work closely with the private sector to expedite the rollout of flagship projects. The ECCP Cebu Tourism Committee was also launched in the same year to cater to the growing travel, hospitality, and tourism sectors in the region. With COVID-19 adversely affecting the tourism sector last year, the committee stood at the forefront of finding solutions for the said sector to recuperate through a number of webinars, and roundtable discussions with the Department of Tourism (DOT), Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), and LGUs. ECCP Tourism Committee Chair Dottie Wurgler-Cronin conveyed that, “Amid the global pandemic, the Chamber remained focus on providing support to its partners and members by keeping them up to date on the hospitality trend not only in the Philippines but in different parts of the world.”
“We have more in store for Cebu as we remain committed to representing the Philippine-European business community in the region,” ECCP Executive Director Florian Gottein shared in celebration of ECCP Cebu’s founding anniversary. “We recently partnered with a company who will open a 50-room lagoon resort in one of the LGUs in the province. Our heartfelt gratitude goes to the local government, public and private sector that warmly welcomed our presence in 1990 and have continued to support us all the way through,” he adds.
ECCP Cebu will be hosting several events in the coming months such as the Tourism Reboot Forum II: Reshaping the Tourism Industry, Dialogue with LGU Forum series, training programs on Understanding the Psychology of Persuasion and Survival Guide on Branding and Marketing, Pakighimamat ug Pakiglanggikit: ECCP Cebu 30 Years of Connecting Businesses, among many others.
