Saturday, April 14, 2007 Travel ban won’t hurt tourism
DESPITE the recent ban posted by Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) against traveling to Cebu, Australian tourist arrivals to the province will not be affected.
This was what Department of Tourism (DOT) Undersecretary Phineas Alburo was optimistic about when asked to comment on the development.
“Travel advisories are part of our (DOT’s) life. We have tried to live with that and we try to manage that,” Alburo said.
Tourists, in general, are aware that terrorism can strike anywhere, anytime but what is important for them is the assurance that the government is “on top of the situation,” he said.
“It is normal for the Australian government to come up with such a precaution,” he told Sun.Star Cebu in a phone interview yesterday.
After the Bali, Indonesia bombing in 2002 that killed many Australian tourists, Alburo said he understands the need for the Australian government to be more wary.
However, he assures Australian visitors, as well as other foreign tourists, that Cebu is a safe travel destination.
“Cebu is an island so it is easy to contain,” he said.
When it comes to dealing with terrorist threats, Cebu’s security task force has always been vigilant, he added.
“The Philippine National Police is doing its best to avoid any incident against foreign tourists and locals. Our local government has proven that Cebu is safe,” Alburo also said.
Cebu’s successfully hosted the 12th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit last January despite reports of terrorist threats.
Good
The summit ended without any violent incident even after at least five countries issued advisories to their citizens warning against traveling to Cebu.
“As far as I know, there’s no definite reason why they should be threatened. We’re still good,” said Alburo.
The travel advisory to Cebu was the second warning posted by Australia’s DFA this year.
The last time the Australian Government advised its citizens against traveling to the province was during the 12th Asean summit last January.
In an earlier report, it cited then “reliable information” of terrorists in the final stages of planning attacks to disrupt the summit.
Alburo said despite the advisory, he is optimistic of getting a good number of Australian visitors in the coming months.
DOT 7 data revealed that Australian visitors traveling to Cebu was up by 30.57 percent in 2006. The number of tourists has increased to 10,272 compared with the 7,867 in 2005.
He also said the DOT and local business stakeholders have been aggressive in their efforts to sell Cebu globally as an ideal tourist and business destination in the Philippines. (MMM)
