Iloilo MICE expo connects local suppliers with event buyers

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

ILOILO CITY – More than 100 exhibitors, suppliers, and service providers joined the first Iloilo MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions) Vendors Expo, a three-day gathering meant to connect local businesses with potential clients and widen the economic reach of the city’s growing meetings and events industry.

The expo brought together event suppliers, MICE professionals, entrepreneurs, and other industry stakeholders to showcase products and services and to open new business and partnership opportunities.

The activity runs from Aug. 12 to 14.

It was organized by the Iloilo City MICE Center in partnership with the Department of Tourism Region 6 (DOT-6) and the Iloilo MICE Alliance Inc., with support from the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA).

Mayor Raisa Treñas-Chu said the significance of the MICE industry extends beyond hosting events and filling convention venues.

“When we attract a conference or convention to Iloilo, the benefits go beyond the venue. Our hotels, restaurants, transport providers, event suppliers, creatives, tour operators, entrepreneurs, and many other businesses become part of that experience,” she said during the event’s formal opening Wednesday.

“Behind these businesses are Ilonggo families who depend on these opportunities,” she added, stressing the city’s goal of promoting tourism that not only attracts visitors but also creates income, livelihood, and opportunities for residents.

The expo is intended to strengthen those connections by giving suppliers and service providers a platform to present their offerings directly to event organizers, organizations, and potential clients.

It also features industry seminars, learning sessions, business-to-business networking, and collaboration activities involving key stakeholders, allowing local enterprises to build contacts and explore partnerships within the MICE sector.

Treñas-Chu said the city is now looking beyond whether Iloilo can host large-scale events and toward expanding the number of national and international conferences, conventions, and exhibitions it can attract.

The growth of the MICE industry, she said, can also create opportunities for businesses outside the traditional events sector, including food establishments, tourism operators, creatives, farmers, and small entrepreneurs.

Iloilo’s culture, heritage, and culinary offerings can further broaden the economic impact of business events by encouraging delegates to explore the city and patronize local products and services, she added.

The expo comes as Iloilo continues to gain recognition as a destination for business events.

The Iloilo Convention Center was named Philippines’ Best Convention Centre 2025 at the World MICE Awards, announced in December 2025, and also holds the ASEAN MICE Venue recognition in the exhibition venue category.

Iloilo City was likewise named Top MICE Destination in Western Visayas by the DOT in March 2026 during the agency’s Pagdayaw 2025 awards.

TIEZA announced a PHP 17.6 million grant in 2025 to support the city’s promotion as a MICE destination in the Philippines and the ASEAN region, and formalized it through a memorandum of agreement in January 2026.

The grant is to be released over five years, alongside a separate PHP 150 million TIEZA commitment for the redevelopment of the Molo, La Paz, and Jaro plazas.

The awards and the funding underscore the city’s broader strategy of using MICE tourism to generate business for hotels, restaurants, transport operators, event suppliers, creatives, and other local enterprises.