THE Cebu Alliance of Tour Operations Specialists (Catos) reported it has facilitated some 1,400 transfer bookings from Boracay to Cebu for April and May.

Some 800 additional bookings are under negotiation, as the industry looks for available resorts to house the guests for June and July bookings.

Catos president Alice Queblatin said the organization has been receiving transfer booking requests by groups from various parts of the world who had planned on going to Boracay for the summer.

Boracay Island will be temporary closed five days from now to pave the way for a six-month rehabilitation.

By group booking, Queblatin meant not fewer than 80 guests per arrival.

Hotel, Resort and Restaurant Association of Cebu (HRRAC) president Carlo Suarez said the average occupancy of resorts and hotels now ranges between 75 and 90 percent.

They expect the occupancy levels to rise due to the bookings from Boracay and the increase in direct flights from other countries to Cebu.

Suarez assured that Cebu has enough rooms to house all these diverted and new bookings.

According to the DOT 7, there are 34,979 rooms in the region as of 2017, the bulk of which are located in Cebu.

Between 2018 and 2019, Suarez said at least 5,000 new rooms in Cebu City and Mactan will be added to the existing room supply.

Meanwhile, tourism stakeholders assure tourists that activities done in Boracay can be replicated or surpassed by Cebu.

“What they can do in Boracay, we can do it here. We can do it better and more,” said Queblatin.

She said Cebu has several activities to offer to guests like island hopping, culinary experience, night life, water activities, whale shark encounter, canyoneering, and camping.

It also has a strong faith and heritage tourism, which can’t be found in Boracay.

“The challenge now for the industry is to upgrade our activities and how to make our guests stay longer here,” said Queblatin, adding that with the opening of the new airport, Cebu will now become a jump-off point to other interesting destinations in the Visayas and Mindanao.

“Of course, we don’t want our guests to stay here for only two nights. What we want is for them to see more of Cebu before they head to other destinations,” she added.

“There is a need to strengthen other tourism components of Cebu.”