The Iloilo MICE Alliance has released a new video “Meet New, Meet You in Iloilo” hinting that the city and province of Iloilo is once again warming up to host Meetings, Incentives, Conventions, Exhibitions and Events or MICE.
The release of the video marks the first year anniversary of “Meet You in Iloilo” – a grand launch of the tourism marketing campaign which packaged Iloilo as a premiere venue for MICE events in the Philippines.
Meet You in Iloilo was introduced in October 10, 2019 in a grand launching attended by Tourism Sec. Bernadette Romulo-Puyat, Sen. Franklin Drilon, Tourism Regional Director Helen Catalbas, Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor, Jr., Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Trenas, tourism officers, private sector representatives, and members of the MICE Alliance, among the many.
The Dept. of Tourism delegation also included Undersecretary Arturo Boncato Jr. and Pocholo Paragas, Chief Operating Officer of the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA).
“Today, the DOT is proud to launch the Meet You in Iloilo campaign. Iloilo is primed to be the next big convention city or MICE destination in the region,” declared Sec. Puyat during the launch last year.
“The National Tourism Development Plan has identified Iloilo City as a priority tourism development area,” Puyat emphasized.
Since then, the Meet You in Iloilo campaign was picking up and all materials had become accessible from a website, Facebook page, publication of an Iloilo MICE guide, and marketing videos.
See the pre-pandemic Iloilo MICE Guide here for your reading and reference: Iloilo MICE Guide
Meet You in Iloilo went into a hiatus
The Meet You in Iloilo campaign agonized a hiatus after the world plunged into a health crisis as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic.
The tourism industry was badly hit as a result of a lockdown, border control and travel restrictions.
By June 2020, Iloilo City had suffered P28-million losses due to cancelled events, reported Mayor Trenas during the Zoom online forum initiated by the Iloilo Economic and Development Foundation, Inc. last August 28, 2020.
In addition, the city had an estimated loss of P678.3 million in hotel and accommodations from March 15 to June 15 this year. Total loss in tourist receipts was estimated at P7.4 billion from March 17 to June 15, 2020.
The data from Iloilo City illustrate the setback caused by the pandemic to MICE putting on hold all events of Meet You in Iloilo, including its plan for a national and international launch in Manila this year.
Meet New, Meet You in Iloilo
To mark the first year anniversary of Meet You in Iloilo, the Iloilo MICE Alliance released the “Meet New, Meet You in Iloilo” video in October 15, through Facebook.
The video conveys the transformations happening in Iloilo as a result of the Coronavirus virus pandemic and how the City and Province of Iloilo has strived to gradually gear up for the new normal to make “Meet You in Iloilo” a possibility again.
The media material shows the various facets that shape up Iloilo’s enduring character – culture, faith, food, historical landmarks, and the positive Ilonggo attitude like resiliency. It emphasized that Iloilo City – the City of Love is working hard for you to safely meet its various treasures.
As of October 22, the video received 1.1k likes, hearts, and wow and 57k views.
