Thursday, March 27, 2008 Cato promotes twin-city packages
THE Cebu Association of Tour Operators (Cato) will capitalize on promoting the “twin-city” destination package to maximize the potentials of two neighboring provinces in promoting a single tour product.
Alice Queblatin, former Cato president, said this innovative tour product is Cato’s way of intensifying the efforts of the Department of Tourism (DOT) in marketing the country as a tourism destination in Asia.
She added that this effort is also expected to boost the tourism activities of the provinces in the Visayas and Mindanao.
The “twin-city” combination packages include Cebu-Bohol, Dumaguete-Siquijor, Iloilo-Bacolod and Cagayan de Oro-Camiguin.
“We chose the two cities based on proximity and access points, where we can enter in one and exit in the other,” said Queblatin.
“These ‘twin destinations’ must co-exist,” she added.
With the government branding Central Visayas as the “tourism gateway” of the country, Queblatin said Cebu is readily identified as the major entry point in reaching these destinations.
Good mix
“Cebu has all the facilities to be a hub because we have a good mix of hotels and restaurants. We are in the right destination and right position. That’s why we get a huge share of tourists,” she said.
Queblatin said accessibility in the “twin-city” destination package is either through the roll-on, roll off (Ro-ro) routes or by airplane.
Under the Ro-ro system, vehicles can cross bodies of water through a ferry. So vehicle owners can enjoy the comfort of their vehicles in different areas.
Queblatin also noted the need for tourism stakeholders and local government units to improve the seaport and airport terminals in the provinces as well as aggressively push for more accommodation facilities to cater the growing passenger traffic.
Picking up
Butuan, for example, is starting to “pick up” from the development and has begun improving its terminal facilities, she said.
Queblatin also mentioned that since Cato and DOT’s promotion of the “twin-city” destination package, requests for provincial tours among local and foreign tourists have increased significantly.
In a document furnished Sun.Star Cebu, DOT-7 data revealed an 18.7 percent increase in domestic and foreign arrivals or nearing two million visitors vacationing in the provinces of Cebu, Bohol, Oriental Negros and Siquijor.
In a separate interview, DOT Undersecretary Phineas Alburo said the double digit growth indicates the “huge contribution of the region in the development of the Philippine tourism industry.”
Tourism Secretary Joseph “Ace” Durano earlier announced that the DOT is expecting visitor arrivals in the country to increase to 3.5 million tourists by year-end.
Durano said the bulk of DOT’s proposed P1.4 billion-budget this year will go to tourism promotions. (MMM)
