Explore Iloilo × Frisson Media 01 / 12

A proposal for the Province of Iloilo 2026

Every accredited operator in Iloilo, in one trusted place.

An official online directory of DOT-accredited tourism operators across the province's 42 towns and Passi City. Modelled on how New Zealand markets a whole country, built for one province.

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The opportunity 2023 arrivals

Visitors land in the city. The province is the next step.

Iloilo City 886,283

Tourist arrivals in Iloilo City, generating ₱8.29B in receipts.

Province of Iloilo 318,535

Tourist arrivals across the province, generating ₱2.27B.

Western Visayas 5.36M

Arrivals across the region, up 22.8% on 2022, worth over ₱70B.

Hundreds of thousands of visitors are already one drive away. The province needs a single place that turns a city stay into a provincial trip.

Source: DOT Region VI, 2023 figures, via Manila Bulletin (July 2024)02

The gap

Accreditation earns trust. Right now it earns little visibility.

Operators do the work to meet DOT standards, yet a visitor planning a trip has no easy way to find them or tell them apart.

01Scattered onlineResorts, farms, guides and tours live across separate Facebook pages, booking sites and word of mouth.
02Trust is invisibleA DOT-accredited farm stay looks the same online as one that has never been inspected.
03Towns compete for attentionEach municipality promotes itself. Visitors see fragments, not one provincial itinerary.
04No shared dataThe province cannot easily see which listings, towns or experiences visitors are looking for.
The gap03

The model newzealand.com

What New Zealand does

One official site that markets a country and sends visitors straight to its operators.

How it works

Tourism New Zealand runs newzealand.com. Operators list for free once their details are checked, and every listing sits beside trip-planning content that inspires the visit. Our proposal applies the same model to one province.

1

Free, verified listings

Operators list at no cost after their information is checked.

2

Quality badge

Qualmark-rated operators show their award and rank higher by default.

3

Book direct

A "Book Now" button and deals send visitors straight to the operator.

4

Shared with regions

Listings feed regional tourism sites, so one entry works everywhere.

Source: newzealand.com and Tourism New Zealand business listing guides04

The model In practice

What it looks like on newzealand.com.

newzealand.com/int
newzealand.com homepage with the Find Your 100% hero and navigation for places, things to do, accommodation and trip planning
01 InspireThe homepage sells the destination first, with clear routes into places, things to do and accommodation.
newzealand.com/int/products/accommodation/farmstays
Farmstays in New Zealand listing page showing 91 results with filters for features, region, place, deals and price
02 Browse91 farmstays, filterable by region, place, deals and price, with a map view.
newzealand.com/int/plan/business/lakewood-lodge
An operator page on newzealand.com for a farm lodge, with its address, description and photo
03 ConnectEach operator gets its own page, linking visitors straight to their website.
Screenshots: newzealand.com, October 202605

The idea Explore Iloilo

The province's official home for accredited tourism.

A fast, mobile-first directory run by the Province. Every listing is DOT-accredited and verified by the provincial tourism office, so visitors can plan with confidence and operators finally get credit for meeting the standard.

StayEatTours & guidesFarm tourismHeritageIslands
Illustrative mockup · Domain and listings are placeholders06

How it works

Accreditation in, visitors out.

The Province stays in control of who is listed. Operators keep their own bookings. Visitors get one trusted starting point.

01

Operator applies

Submits a simple profile: photos, description, location, contact and booking links.

Operator
02

Province verifies

The tourism office checks DOT accreditation and approves the listing in a simple dashboard.

Provincial tourism office
03

Listing goes live

Published with an accredited badge, filed by town, district and experience type.

Explore Iloilo
04

Visitors connect

Visitors call, message or book directly with the operator. No middleman, no commission.

Visitor

Accreditation expiry dates are tracked, so lapsed listings are flagged for renewal and the directory stays accurate.

How it works07

Who it serves

One platform, three winners.

For visitors

Plan with confidence

  • Only accredited operators, so every result meets DOT standards
  • Search by town, district or interest, from islands to farms
  • Ready-made itineraries that link city stays to the province
  • Mobile-first, fast on Philippine data connections

For operators

Get found, for free

  • A free listing on the Province's official site
  • An accredited badge that rewards the effort of accreditation
  • Direct enquiries and bookings with no commission
  • A reason to get accredited for those who are not yet

For the Province

See and steer tourism

  • One official voice for every town's offer
  • Live insight into what visitors search for and where
  • An up-to-date register of accredited operators
  • A home for campaigns, festivals and seasonal promotions
Who it serves08

Iloilo's head start

The accredited supply is already here.

No. 1

In Western Visayas for DOT-accredited farms

19 accredited farm destinations, from a base of 250+ registered farms.

Most

DOT-accredited regional tour guides in the region

Iloilo led Western Visayas in 2023, recognised at Pagdayaw 2024.

43

Local government units to showcase

42 municipalities and the component city of Passi, across five districts.

District 1HeritageMiagao Church, coastal towns of the south
District 2Eco-cultureNature sites and the Bucari highlands of Leon
District 3Agri-ecoFarm tourism and countryside stays
District 4EventsHost of the national scout jamboree
District 5IslandsSicogon and the Islas de Gigantes, ~40% of arrivals
Sources: Philippine News Agency; Province of Iloilo; Inquirer (2024)09

Rollout

Start focused. Grow province-wide.

Phase 1

Pilot

Launch with the accredited operators already on the Province's list, focused on one or two districts.

  • Directory, search and listings
  • Operator onboarding with the tourism office
  • Verification dashboard
Phase 2

Province-wide

Extend to every district and LGU, adding the content that turns a listing into a trip.

  • All 43 LGUs onboarded
  • Itineraries and town guides
  • Events and festival calendar
Phase 3

Grow demand

Use the platform as the Province's marketing engine, at home and overseas.

  • Campaigns and seasonal deals
  • Visitor insight reporting
  • Booking integrations
Indicative scope · To be shaped with the Province10

Why Frisson Media

We have built this kind of directory before.

Precedent · New Zealand

Ride NZ

A national directory of e-bike hire operators, organised by trail, region and depot, linking visitors straight to each operator's own booking page.

ridenz.frisson.nz ↗
Trusted by 50+ brandsWeb & platform buildsContent & campaignsPR & media relations

The team

Portrait of Jaymard Colmenar
Jaymard ColmenarCo-Founder · Platform & build
Portrait of Rebecca Nieto-Litan
Rebecca Nieto-LitanPartner · Business development & PR
Portrait of Aya Mascuñana
Aya MascuñanaProject manager · Onboarding & content

A local team with global thinking. We bring what we learned building tourism and booking platforms in New Zealand, and the PR reach to launch it here.

Why Frisson Media11

Next steps

Let's build it.

1A working sessionWalk through the idea with the provincial tourism office.
2The accredited listShare the current register so we can size the pilot.
3A pilot districtChoose where Explore Iloilo goes live first.

Email

hello@frissonmedia.ph

Web

frissonmedia.com.ph

Frisson Media Philippines12