DAVAO City Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCCI) president Arturo Milan said there is a need for an aggressive promotion for Davao City as a tourist spot in Mindanao.

Milan underscored the importance of creating more efforts in promoting the tourism sector of the city with the launching of recent direct flights between Davao and Hong Kong with Cathay Pacific, and the upcoming launch of a charter flight between Davao and Jinjiang, Fujian Province of China by December this year through Xiamen Airlines.

“We need to make it more vibrant because we have to accept the reality that we are still starting. We have been so dependent from tourists who come from Manila to Davao. Now the reality is changed because of these direct flights,” Milan said yesterday during a media forum at Habi at Kape in Abreeza Ayala Malls, Davao City.

Milan added the influx of more Chinese tourists in the city must also be a good motivation in fast-tracking promotions to other foreign countries, specifically in the Southeast Asian region.

Milan said most of the Chinese tourists who visit Davao come to see sights and attractive destinations in the city. Alongside with the tourists are Chinese business delegates who might want to expand their business ventures in the city.

The DCCCI president added the coastal resorts and pristine beaches and white shores of Samal, Mati and Some parts of Davao Oriental are sites where developments can be invested in order to attract more tourists.

“We have a lot of beaches to promote. Mao nalang siguro ni atung sugdan (I think we should start from here),” Milan said, adding that initiatives in promoting the tourism sector do not have to be sophisticated, rather one must look on what the city already has.