This highly urbanized city convened the Bacolod Meetings and Conventions Promotions Board (BMCPB) in a bid to strengthen its position as one of the country’s major meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) destinations.

Mayor Greg Gasataya, who chairs the board, and Councilor Jason Villarosa, as the vice chairman, led the inaugural meeting that brought together key leaders, stakeholders, and industry partners from both the public and private sectors at Park Inn by Radisson Bacolod on March 23.

“Positioning Bacolod as a premier MICE destination requires strong collaboration, and the private sector plays a vital role in driving this growth,” chief tourism operations officer Ma. Teresa Manalili said in a statement on Tuesday.

She said the creation of the Bacolod MICE Alliance, which was approved by the board through a resolution, will “empower stakeholders to work collectively, strengthen partnerships and move forward with a unified direction.”

The BMCPB also endorsed the development of a Bacolod MICE Bid Book to boost the city’s competitiveness in attracting national and international events.

Those who attended the meeting were Department of Trade and Industry-Negros Occidental chief trade-industry development specialist Engiemar Tupas, as well as the sectoral representatives for food, travel and tours, convention facilities, hotels and restaurants, transportation and souvenirs and leisure.

“This is a crucial time for Bacolod’s tourism industry, where both the public and private sectors must come together with a shared vision,” Manalili said.

Earlier this month, Gasataya issued an executive order convening the BMCPB to ensure sustained policy direction, enhanced coordination, and the delivery of high-quality services in accommodating MICE events and to strengthen the city’s competitiveness in the industry.

He tasked the promotions body to ensure the development of incentives to encourage the entry of MICE, programs to develop globally-ready MICE professionals, baseline data to serve as a basis for MICE programs, and mechanisms to encourage inbound tourism and trade missions, produce promotion collaterals and grant incentives and assistance for organizers.

In 2025, tourist arrivals here grew by 4.8 percent, generating PHP6.55 billion in tourism receipts, data from the City Tourism Development Office showed.

Attendees of MICE events soared by 77 percent to 279,200 as peak arrivals were recorded in October, November and December, driven largely by the annual MassKara Festival held every October. (PNA)