Iloilo City is stepping up preparations for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit and related meetings that will be hosted by the Philippines in 2026.
Maria Lea Victoria Lara, director of the Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions (MICE) Center, said only Iloilo City and Boracay Island in Western Visayas were chosen for some of the meetings, although they have yet to get details from concerned government agencies.
“We will take the lead on what will be instructed by the host agencies that oversee the meetings and the instructions of Mayor Raisa Treñas on how we will prepare this meeting,” she said in an interview on Thursday, Oct. 16.
However, starting next month, they will start holding trainings to cascade the Filipino Brand of Service Excellence (FBSE) for frontline stakeholders.
Set on Nov. 10 to 11 and 17 to 18, Lara said they will hold the seminar in partnership with the Department of Tourism for those working in restaurants, tour operators, tour guides and the transport sector, among others.
They will partner with the Iloilo City Local Economic Development and Investment Promotion Office that implements the Uswag Negosyo Academy, which, among others, covers food handling and service.
They also aim to create more circuits to increase activities in Iloilo City.
Together with the Executive Assistant for Medical and Wellness Candice Magdalane Tupas, they started a survey and inventory to come up with a circuit for food crawl, museums, innovations, and other things they can offer to showcase what Iloilo can offer.
She added that they need to have innovations to create lasting good experiences for guests.
“We have been ready to admit international guests here. Last year, we also had an ASEAN subcommittee meeting on culture. We are seeing more of that. It’s a good immersion for our frontliners if we really want to be a premier MICE destination,” she said.PNA
