Can Iloilo City ‘out-green’ Cebu and Boracay for MICECON 2027?

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

Iloilo City is anchoring its bid to host the Philippine Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions Conference (MICECON) 2027 on its sustainability record, positioning itself against two other shortlisted destinations for the country’s premier gathering of business events professionals.

The city is competing with Cebu and Boracay Island in Aklan for the hosting rights.

The Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) is evaluating the three bids and is expected to announce the winning host city in September.

“It’s our first time hosting that [event, if ever]. We hope that we will be able to get it,” Iloilo City MICE Center Director Maria Lea Victoria Lara said Monday.

Lara said winning the hosting rights would further strengthen Iloilo City’s position as one of the country’s leading destinations for meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions.

She said the city’s proposal is anchored on the concept of a “green MICE city,” with sustainability serving as the centerpiece of its business events industry.

“We are trying to inject sustainability because, you know, the city has a lot of programs when it comes to environmental programs. We want to anchor that in our existing initiatives such as Clean As You Go, anti-smoking and anti-littering campaigns,” Lara said.

She said the city also wants visitors to understand and appreciate its environmental policies, noting that tourism, while boosting livelihoods and businesses, also generates waste and pollution.

“We hope they will be able to appreciate our efforts. We know for a fact that tourism really brings, while it helps in livelihood and business, it has an aspect on pollution and waste that we have to deal with,” Lara explained.

To support the initiative, the city is preparing a Green MICE Handbook to guide event organizers, exhibitors, and suppliers in conducting environmentally sustainable meetings, conventions, and exhibitions.

The push builds on groundwork the city has been laying since at least 2025. In September of that year, Iloilo City launched the Sustainable Practices and Responsible Operations for Unique Tourism Lab to promote sustainable tourism and responsible business events, and it hosted its first-ever MICE Conference two months later, in November 2024, drawing more than 100 industry stakeholders under the theme “Conquering New Horizons with Sustainable MICE Innovations.”

Under its “Green Meets Great” campaign, the city has encouraged the adoption of renewable energy, paperless systems, efficient waste management, bike-friendly infrastructure, and other environmentally responsible practices across the MICE industry.

Lara said the city is also working with the Local Economic Development and Investment Promotion Office (LEDIPO) to connect event organizers with enterprises that produce sustainable souvenirs, eco-friendly bags, and other locally made products under a circular economy model.

She said these efforts are intended to strengthen the participation of local businesses while reducing the environmental impact of conferences and exhibitions.

Lara added that Iloilo City is ready to host a national MICE gathering, having successfully hosted two local MICE conferences in recent years.

“Iloilo City has so many initiatives that will help sustain this campaign,” Lara said.

MICECON is the country’s flagship conference for the meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions industry, bringing together government agencies, tourism stakeholders, event organizers, and business leaders to promote the Philippines as a premier destination for business events.