THE Department of Tourism (DOT) 7 is backing the Cebu Provincial Government’s move to make travel and tourism in Cebu easier and accessible to potential tourists by offering affordable tour packages.

In a coordination meeting with tourism stakeholders on Thursday, March 11, 2021, DOT 7 Director Shahlimar Tamano invited all tourism players to participate in the province-led Suroy-Suroy Sugbo Tour Packages, a marketing effort meant to revive tourism to slowly bring back tourism jobs and revenues.

“We have a program right now to create packages. This is to simplify (travel) and to spread the economic benefits. The governor wants to convince the hotels in the farthest northern and southern towns to join these packages,” he said.

Tamano said joining the program is voluntary.

“This is for the resorts that want to join. This is voluntary. But of course, if you join then you will be part of the marketing since this is already a package. So when our tour operators and associations will sell this as well as the major airlines, hotels and resorts will be enumerated to those who will avail themselves of the packages,” Tamano said.

The Suroy-Suroy Sugbo Tour Packages will be launched on March 16, 2021. They target local tourists from Metro Manila and neighboring provinces.

The tour package is already inclusive of a roundtrip airline ticket and accommodation for a four- day and three-night package with breakfast and two lunches.

The creation of tour packages is one of the many solutions Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia saw in helping the tourism players rise again following the global halt in travel caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Suroy-Suroy Sugbo tour dates will be from Monday to Thursday to address the gap in foot traffic as hotels and resorts are mostly fully booked from Friday to Sunday.

Garcia said since the reopening of the province’s tourism in August, tourism players have been enjoying healthy occupancy during weekends and long holidays.

However, she noted that more marketing should be done, especially since the resorts and hotels still suffer from no to low occupancy from Monday to Thursday.

According to Garcia, “resorts generate income on the weekend but there’s little or none during the rest of the week.”(JOB)