Official: Tourism in city doing well despite Martial Law

A YEAR after Martial Law was declared in the island of Mindanao, City Tourism Operations Office (CTOO) said the tourism sector of Davao City is still doing very well.

On May 23, 2017, President Rodrigo Duterte declared Mindanao under martial law for a period not exceeding sixty days. This is following the siege that broke out in Marawi. The declaration was extended late last year and has not been lifted since.

However, despite the fear of some Filipinos about Martial Law – it having a negative impression to some because of what happened during Marcos’ administration – the tourism sector in Davao City had remained to be stable.

In a previous interview with CTOO head Generose Tecson, the effect of martial law in the city was only until the first two months after the declaration. However, August of last year, during Kadayawan Festival, tourists came pouring in. During the period of the festival alone, CTOO recorded a total of 185,660 tourist arrivals.

“Things are looking up for Davao Tourism, we are experiencing an uptrend in arrivals as well as conduct of MICE in the city. Even the Australian Embassy opted to hold the weeklong activities for Philippine-Australia Friendship Day here in Davao which is a vote of confidence to the peace and order of Davao,” Tecson told SunStar Davao.

For the first time as well, Davao City was able to reach the 2 million mark of tourist arrivals last year with exactly 2,009,879 tourists. As the tourist arrivals in the city is constantly making a 5 to 7 percent increase since 2015, Tecson said they are aiming for a 7 percent increase this 2018.

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