Iloilo City, TIEZA seal P17.6-M deal for five-year MICE push

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor 

PHOTO: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Aav6TZRtb/

The city government of Iloilo and the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA) have sealed a P17.6-million partnership to bankroll a marketing program aimed at positioning the city as a major Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions (MICE) hub in the ASEAN region.

City Mayor Raisa Treñas-Chu and TIEZA Chief Operating Officer Mark Lapid signed the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) on Friday, January 23, launching the “Meet You in Iloilo” project.

The MOA signifies that TIEZA will fund the five-year destination marketing program designed to strengthen the city’s competitiveness in the MICE sector.

Under the agreement, the financial commitment will support the hosting of local and international conventions, stakeholder capacity-building, marketing and promotional campaigns, facility upgrades, and networking events to attract investors and event organizers.

Treñas-Chu said the partnership comes at a time when demand for MICE venues in the city continues to grow, particularly at the Iloilo Convention Center (ICON), which hosted more than 150 events last year.

“This project is a very significant milestone for our MICE here in Iloilo City […] This is good news for Iloilo City, because we really try to promote Iloilo as a MICE event center,” she said.

She noted that bookings at ICON are reportedly already filled months in advance, underscoring the need to further develop the city’s MICE ecosystem alongside its tourism and cultural offerings.

Lapid said TIEZA’s financial support reflects confidence in Iloilo’s potential as a regional convention destination, noting that the agency has been involved with ICON since its early years.

“When they (ICON) approached us to ask for help for the five-year MICE program, of course, we will not say no, definitely yes. Anything that we can help support the local stakeholders, including the city government, TIEZA is very much willing to help,” he said.

Lapid also confirmed that TIEZA will also extend PHP150 million for the development of the plazas. The rehabilitation of Museo de Iloilo is also being considered.

“This will also help in our tourist attractions here in the city, because, as you’ve seen, almost all of our plazas now are at par for me as far as some of the plazas in the European cities,” Treñas-Chu said.