The city government and the Iloilo Tourism Foundation Inc. on Monday signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) to enhance local tourism, including updating Iloilo’s tourism development plan and revising its decade-old tourism code.

Maria Lea Victoria Lara, director of the Iloilo City Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibition (MICE) Center, said the agreement outlines collaboration on various tourism initiatives, with a primary focus on aligning local strategies with the Philippine Tourism Plan and integrating recent developments like the newly-passed MICE Ordinance.

Mayor Jerry Treñas and Lara signed the MOA on behalf of the city, while Foundation president Joseph Del Rosario and vice president Sandra Gomez represented the private sector.

Lara emphasized the current tourism code, enacted in 2013, is outdated, particularly in areas such as tour circuits and the city’s culinary tourism.

She said the partnership aims to complete updates to the development plan within the year, followed by amendments to the tourism code.

Alongside the MOA signing, Treñas issued Executive Order No. 40, series of 2025, which revitalizes the Iloilo City Tourism Council.

The council is tasked with crafting a strategic tourism plan, overseeing local tourism activities, recommending development programs for tourist sites, regulating tourism-related businesses, and promoting investment in the sector. (PNA)