Cebu tourism ‘resilient’ in ‘11

Monday, December 26, 2011

CEBU’s tourism industry showed resiliency despite uncertainties caused by changes in the leadership of the Department of Tourism (DOT) this year.

Tourism players said the industry will continue to propel growth in Cebu’s economy in 2012, given that Cebu did “comparatively well” this year. The DOT said new tourism products will be launched next year.

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“Cebu’s tourism industry is consistently growing annually. Although targets are based on a national scale, the region is growing consistently at 10 to 12 percent,” DOT 7 Director Rowena Montecillo said in an interview yesterday.

Arrivals

DOT 7 said 626,731 foreigners visited Cebu in the first nine months of this year, a 17 percent improvement from last year’s 531,296. Total domestic arrivals reached 827,346 for the same period this year, up by 4.75 percent from 789,858 in the first nine months of 2010.

Tourist arrivals from January to September in Cebu increased by 10.06 percent or 1,454,077 from last year’s 1,321,154 arrivals.

Local carrier Cebu Pacific also reported they flew 2.56 million passengers to and from Cebu from January to November this year. Cebu is one of the airline’s main hubs to 19 domestic and four international (Hong Kong, Singapore, Seoul, Busan) destinations.

Montecillo said the continued growth of the Korean market at not less than 50 percent every month also contributed to the booming tourism industry.

She also credited the active participation of local tourism stakeholders in selling Cebu as a destination.

Marketing, promotion

National Association of Independent Travel Agencies Inc. (Naitas) Cebu president Jenny Franco said concerted efforts by local government and the private sector in Cebu in developing new products as well as marketing and promotions have helped boost growth in the industry. This despite the effects of the Manila hostage crisis, the country’s political instability, blacklisting of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport by the European Union and the lack of tourism facilities.

Cebu Business Club (CBC) president Dondi Joseph said tourism and business process outsourcing were Cebu’s two “compensating factors” that fueled the local economy despite the problems in Europe and the United States that severely affected Cebu’s export sector.

“Five years ago, only a few saw the potential of tourism as a good business venture.

But now, even those who don’t have enough background in the industry have dipped their hands in tourism,” said Jay Aldeguer, president and chief executive officer of the Islands Group of Companies.

Aldeguer said while Cebu continues to enjoy a good number of tourist arrivals, tourism players are on a “wait-and-see” stance on the direction of the industry under the leadership of new Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr.

During his first official visit to Cebu, Jimenez encouraged Cebuanos to not only promote Cebu but the rest of the country. He said talking about the good things in the country is a powerful campaign that could entice foreigners to visit the Philippines despite the lack of tourism infrastructure.

Aldeguer, however, said the Philippines needs proper packaging and promotion. He said Cebu needs to come up with new tourism packages.

The DOT is set to announce the country’s new tourism slogan this week.

“More tourists from developed countries prefer to go to destinations that are sustainable like community-based tourism where the locals can earn while preserving their culture and heritage, and preserving and protecting their environment,” Franco said.

Suroy-Suroy Sugbo

To push for countryside tourism, Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) president Samuel Chioson said the chamber will embark on a new tourism initiative called “Serbisyo Turismo” in partnership with Cebu Province.

This program, which will be launched next year, aims to sustain the province-wide “Suroy-Suroy Sugbo.” The chamber said that apart from working with the different LGUs, the chamber will also tap tourism stakeholders and the academe to help make the project sustainable.

“We aim to boost countryside tourism and help all municipalities in Cebu enhance and promote their own tourism products,” Chioson said.

Meanwhile, the CBC and the Research, Education and Institutional Development (REID), a policy research advocacy group, will also revisit and re-study the old tourism masterplan of Cebu to come up with a consolidated tourism masterplan that will be presented to the DOT.

The revised Cebu Tourism masterplan is expected to be completed by February or March.

Among the areas that will be revisited are marketing and branding of Cebu; infrastructure such as airport expansion; and accreditation process for hotels, pension houses, and restaurants.

Awareness

Aldeguer also noted a growing awareness among LGUs on the dynamics of tourism. The beautification project on Osmeña Blvd. is one manifestation of the growing awareness among all stakeholders.

“We remain optimistic about next year with the launching of the new tourism slogan that will chart the direction of the country’s tourism industry. We are also expecting new tourism products by next year,” Montecillo said.

DOT 7 will double its efforts in terms of product development and promotion since Central Visayas was identified as top priority in the National Tourism Development Plan.

“We are looking at brighter prospects for tourism next year. I believe the industry will continue to fuel growth in the local economy,” Aldeguer said.

Franco also hoped arrivals would increase next year under the leadership of Jimenez.

“The biggest challenge is to attract investors so our infrastructure may improve and
make us globally competitive,” she said.

Cebu Pacific, on other hand, sees continued growth in the airline industry with travelers opting to travel by air.

“The low-cost carrier model is still a strong business model that fits perfectly with the low-fare, great value travel trend in Asia now. People will always look for the lowest airfare and extensive route network,” Cebu Pacific vice-president for sales and marketing Candice Iyog said in a statement sent to Sun.Star Cebu.

The DOT expects arrivals to reach four million by 2012. The department earlier adjusted its targets from six million tourist arrivals to 10 million by 2016.