By Perla Lena
ILOILO CITY – Iloilo City’s Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) Center has unveiled its SPROUT Lab program, which advocates and pushes green tourism in support of the local government’s sustainability campaign.
SPROUT, or Sustainable Practices and Responsible Operations of Unique Tourism, aims to support the “Green Meets Great” campaign, which was launched in 2024, to position Iloilo City as the country’s first green MICE destination.
“We have positioned the MICE Center to advocate for green gatherings. As we know, large tourism, while it’s good for our economy, contributes a lot of waste as well, and has an impact on the environment. We want to do our own balance of activities,” MICE Center Director Maria Lea Victoria Lara said in an interview on Monday.
As MICE tourism continues to influence the environmental footprint of Iloilo City, Lara said it is also critical to raise guests’ and visitors’ awareness about local ordinances and sustainability initiatives.
“Encouraging active participation and support from tourists will help reinforce Iloilo’s commitment to eco-conscious development and responsible tourism,” she said.
Through the SPROUT Lab, the MICE center aims to pursue seminars and training sessions to advocate sustainable practices and operations with stakeholders; raise community and visitor awareness and engagement to highlight the importance of sustainability in business events; and motivate broader participation in green initiatives across the country, and introduce local policies encouraging and highlighting sustainable business operations.
Lara said their target audience include hotels, restaurants, resorts, coffee shops, travel and tour operators, event organizers, event venues, transport groups, academe and media. She added that they also would like to give incentives by recognizing the best practices of local stakeholders through the Iloilo City MICE Awards.
“We will capacitate them first to ensure that they comply, and then we will have that recognition program. We want to be on track in making sure that establishments, the people, and the events comply with desired standards,” she said, adding they will also align their initiatives with the MICE Standards developed by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council.
The SPROUT lab was unveiled on September 25 during the second MICE conference, which focused on infrastructure development and allied tourism services. (PNA)