Gov’t urged to promote PH call center industry abroad

Although the Philippines has long been regarded as the call center capital of the world, the country is hardly known to major markets abroad because the government has not been aggressive enough in promoting and marketing the booming outsourcing industry.

This is according to top officials of the Contact Center Association of the Philippines (CCAP) who said that countries like Malaysia are pouring huge amounts of money to push their local call center industry.

Benedict Hernandez, president of CCAP, said while Malaysia’s outsourcing manpower is just a mere fraction of the available Filipino workforce, it has been able to promote itself in the foreign market more successfully than the Philippines.

“When we go conferences abroad, there is, of course, India. But we also always see Malaysia trying to attract foreign companies to look at their outsourcing sector,” said Hernandez, who also heads the BPO operations of Accenture Philippines.

The lack of presence in the international market, according to Hernandez, is also the reason why it took a long time before developed economies like Australia “discovered” the Philippines and eventually outsourced almost all their outsourcing requirements to the country.

The need to publicize the country’s BPO sector, whose revenues are set to overtake OFW remittances as the biggest dollar earner for the Philippines, is one of the major issues which CCAP wants to be tackled at its upcoming annual conference.

The 11th International Contact Center Conference and Expo (ICCCE), which set on Sept. 27 and 28 at the Marriott Grand Ballroom, is expecting over 100 international investors and clients to attend.

Themed as “Contact Islands: Opportunities in the Ultimate Customer Experience Paradise”, the annual event will reach out to investors and clients from North America, Europe, Australian-New Zealand, and Asia.

“We are excited with the commitments we have seen across geographies to join us in this year’s ICCCE. This is the first time ever in our industry that we are able to gather over 100 international investors and clients to learn and explore business opportunities in the Philippines,” said Hernandez.

The pre-conference activity on September 27 will feature a business briefing for international delegates on how to do business in the Philippines. Experts from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) will give a rundown on prevailing business policies and incentives.

“Of course, ICCCE will not be complete with its much anticipated learning dialogues with leading thinkers and disruptors of our industry,” said Jojo Uligan, member of the CCAP board of trustees.

An optional visit of the different contact centers and leisure tours also await international delegates.

Source: http://goo.gl/tPWHto