Can SM Prime’s Seaside Arena aid Cebu’s recovery from 2025 tourism slump?

CEBU, Philippines – After experiencing a dip in tourist visits in late 2025 — primarily due to disasters, Cebu’s business experts and leaders are hoping for an economic comeback, especially after the successful hosting of BINI’s Signals Concert in mid-July at the SM Seaside Cebu Arena. On July 9, SM Prime formally announced the opening of the SM Seaside Cebu Arena in the South Road Properties, Cebu City, with the goal of ushering the beginning of a 20-year-old development plan in Cebu’s coastal business hub. Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) President Regan Rex King told Rappler on July 24, that the SM Seaside Cebu Arena would help drive Cebu’s economic growth and even align with the goals of the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) on promoting sports tourism. “A world-class arena is more than a venue—it is a gateway to positioning Cebu as Asia’s next premier Sports, Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions (SMICE) destination,” King said. In a Facebook post, Cebu Governor Pamela Baricuatro shared similar sentiments with the CCCI head, stating that the arena reflects growing confidence in Cebu as a premier destination for tourism, business, culture, and world-class events. “The new facility is expected to attract more local and international visitors, generate more business activity, create jobs, and open new opportunities for Cebuano workers, entrepreneurs, artists, athletes, and communities,” the governor said. Visayas venue giant Spanning more than seven hectares, the seaside arena is considered the largest facility of its kind in the Visayas. The entire arena, worth P7 billion, was designed by award-winning global architecture firm Arquitectonica. Its full accommodation capacity is estimated at 25,000 guests. Last July 11, P-pop girl group BINI had their Cebu leg of the BINI Signals 2026 anniversary concert series, selling out more than 20,000 tickets for the event. For comparison, the SM Mall of Asia (MOA) Arena has a seating capacity of 15,000 guests, though it can be expanded to 20,000. On June 20 and 21, BINI sold out tickets for a two-night run at the SM MOA Arena, totaling roughly 30,000 guests over that weekend. INSIDE LOOK. The SM Seaside Cebu Arena features Cebu’s largest center-hung display, offering advanced visuals, immersive sound, and real-time data integration for diverse events. Photo from SM Prime In 2025, the SM MOA Arena hosted more than 200 events and welcomed over 1.1 million attendees. The arena served as the Philippine stage for performances by artists like Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, Maroon 5, and BTS, and even sporting events like the 2025 FIVB Men’s Volleyball World Championship. The SM MOA Arena’s 2025 performance was a 10% increase from its 2024 performance with one million in total ticket attendance recorded. The BINI concert was only the first of a long list of events set to be held at the SM Seaside Cebu Arena, and is expected to draw more domestic trips to Cebu. Data from the Mactan Cebu International Airport Authority showed that total passenger traffic for the first half of 2025 only reached an estimated 5.9 million while the first half of 2026 surpassed 6.46 million, signaling a slight rebound in tourist visits from the previous year. Promising future Julia Abby Catibud, a frequent concert-goer, told Rappler on Friday, July 31, that the new Cebu arena was a “promising location.” “As someone who frequently attends concerts at SM MOA Arena, I was totally amazed. The Cebu arena has a bigger queue area, and a way more industrialized look than SM MOA, relatively because the Cebu arena was newly built,” Catibud said. Catibud shared her experience watching the concert of Filipino rock band IV of Spades at the arena, and noted the convenience of enjoying a concert in the province, instead of flying all the way to Manila. Catibud noted that her friends in Manila flew in for the July 11 BINI concert. SEASIDE. Not only is it the largest arena in the Visayas, the SM Seaside Cebu Arena also has 30 luxury Premier Suites and direct access to SM Seaside City Cebu and the upcoming SMX Convention Center Seaside Cebu. Photo from SM Prime SM Prime Chairman Hans Sy told reporters in July that the SM Seaside Cebu Arena is only the initial part of a development project conceptualized no more than 20 years ago. “My father has always believed in Cebu. Since before, when we had a small one in downtown, and then, when he had the opportunity to buy the super block in the North Reclamation [Area], he has always believed in Cebu,” Sy said. According to Sy, he simply followed his father’s directive to develop the land. Among the list of projects in the 20-year-old pipeline include the upcoming SMX Convention Center Seaside Cebu As of this writing, SM Prime has signed more than 20 major shows with local and international acts, live productions, and sports events to be held at the SM Seaside Cebu Arena in 2026. In Sy’s vision, the odds are now greater on not just bring in more tourists but also world-class performances and celebrities in the country. “I do believe with now two [arena] venues, there’s a certain advantage that we can convince a lot of [international artists] to come [to the country],” Sy added. – Rappler.com