DOT pushes Iloilo City as MICE destination

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Tourism (DOT) has launched a P50 million campaign to promote Iloilo City as preferred destination for the meetings, incentives,conventions and exhibitions (MICE) sector.

DOT launched yesterday the “Meet You in Iloilo” campaign,which seeks to promote Iloilo’s offerings as a MICE destination.

“Iloilo is prime to be the next big convention city or MICE destination in the region. The National Tourism Development Plan (NTDP has identified Iloilo City as a priority tourism development area,” Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said.

In recent years, Iloilo has played host to various international, regional and local events, such as the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meetings in 2015 and 2017, respectively.

“The staging of these events show that Iloilo City embraces global tourism standards,” Puyat said.

“Iloilo has proven itself as an ideal city for MICE growth given the city’s seamless infrastructure ranging from its gateways, both airport and seaport, to wide highways and modern business parks,” she added.

“From 2018 to 2019 alone, there were at least 66,000 delegates who attended events in Iloilo, almost twice the figure from the year before,” she added.

Iloilo City offers a wide selection of MICE facilities from the Iloilo Convention Center to ballrooms and function rooms from hotels such as the Courtyard by Marriott, Richmonde hotel, Seda Atria, Park Inn by Radissons, among others.

At present, Iloilo City has around 4,700 DOT- accredited hotel rooms, while more than 1,130 rooms are under construction and set to be available by 2022.

In line with boosting the promotion efforts of Iloilo’s MICE industry, the MICE Alliance was established earlier this year, which is composed of al major tourism stakeholders in the city and the province.

The MICE Alliance crafted a comprehensive incentive plan that offers convention discounts on domestic airfare, exclusive hotel perks and concessions from major malls and participating restaurants, in a bid to attract more MICE event planners to come to Iloilo.

Apart from its MICE facilities, Iloilo also offers delegates activities and sites they can see before or after the event that gives them a peek of the country’s rich history, particularly through architectural structures that have stood the test of time.

Among these are the UNESCO World Heritage Site Miag-ao church, Lizares mansion, and Lopez heritage house Nelly Garden.

“What makes Iloilo City a unique is its rich history, heritage and culture, providing enriching experiences to delegates and adding value to their stay,” Puyat said.

Puyat emphasized that the MICE industry does not only make a destination more competitive but also sustainable and very inclusive.

“The ripple effect of MICE is very far reaching as it provides direct and indirect jobs, making tourism everybody’s business,”she added.