The Iloilo City Government has partnered with the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA) to establish the city as a premier Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions (MICE) hub in the ASEAN region.
The partnership was sealed through a memorandum of agreement (MOA) signed City Mayor Raisa S. Treñas and Mark Lapid, chief operating officer of TIEZA, the infrastructure arm of the Department of Tourism (DOT).
The ceremonial MOA signing was witnessed by TIEZA chief of staff King Bauyon, MICE Alliance Iloilo chair Natalie Lim, former Iloilo Festivals Foundation Inc. chair Allan Ryan Tan, Executive Assistant Leny Ledesma and MICE Center Iloilo Director Maria Victoria Lara.
The project includes hosting local and international conventions, capacity-building for stakeholders, marketing campaigns, upgrading of facilities, and networking events to attract investors and organizers.
“This project is a very significant milestone for our MICE here in Iloilo City. And we want to thank TIEZA for this partnership. Last year, more than 150 MICE conventions and events happened in Iloilo Convention Center, and we want to sustain and improve those events. That’s why this partnership is very important for us,” Treñas said.
“Last time, MICE Center Iloilo presented to me the schedule of activities for all the MICE events, and January pa lang puno na. This is good news for Iloilo City, because we really try to promote Iloilo as a MICE event center. Right now, we have a lot of conventions, expos and exhibitions happening here,” she added.IMT
