THE relatively new regional director of the Department of Tourism, Camiguin-born Catalino Echaves Chan III, is no stranger to Cebu. Chan is the son of the late retired Judge Ceferino Chan and his wife Mercedes Echaves (a native of Aloguinsan) and is named after his uncle and grandfather, Catalino Jr. and Sr. He came to Cebu for his college studies at the University of San Carlos where he was a member of the university dance troupe, becoming its president in his senior year. It was while studying in San Carlos that he started to be interested in tourism, working as a tour guide during his free time.
After college, he managed Baron Travel but when his dying mother called him back to Camiguin to manage the family-owned rural bank, he had to leave Cebu as he was the only commerce graduate (business administration major in marketing) in the family. Opting to be a member of the bank’s board of directors where he could oversee policy, he soon became a tourism officer in the island province where, at that time, there was no telephone and power was limited to a few hours.
Surveying the place, he realized that Camiguin has everything “except the rice terraces.” He eventually became the provincial tourism officer and it was he who initiated the province’s “Lanzones Festival,” a year before Cebu started the Sinulog festival. Camiguin joined the first Sinulog and landed first place in that Sinulog.
The second time Camiguin joined, Chan did the choreography. As provincial tourism officer, he brought Camiguin to travel fairs. And to earn his Master in Public Administration degree in 2000, he taught tourism subjects in local schools for four years for free. By the time he left the place for his next assignment, Camiguin was among the top 10 domestic destinations in the country.
In 2005, he was appointed tourism regional director of Region X, with Cagayan de Oro as his base. Surveying the region, he came up with Pasundayag sa Northern Mindanao, a project which showcases the art and culture of northern Mindanao and its tourist spots and its crafts. He also brought the Pasundayag to Brunei, Hong Kong, Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom, and locally to other provinces as well. His tourism efforts boosted the popularity of the area and when he left; Region X had become the fifth or sixth most popular domestic destination in the Philippines.
Now Chan is back in Cebu. He has been going around the region and sees Cebu and the developed section of Bohol as ready to become world-class destinations, if they are not yet that. He says there is a further need to professionalize services, facilities, tour guides and operators and there is also a need for connectivity, that is, roads and bridges and airports. He would want eastern Bohol to develop so the province’s tourism growth will be “inclusive.” And he sees there is a need for connectivity in Siquijor which he hopes will be solved with the completion of its airport. He looks at Oriental Negros for its diving sites, as well as for agri-tourism.
Chan says he looks to the mountains as a favorite destination, the Cordilleras, especially. as he grew up in Mambajao, Camiguin, surrounded by the sea. He looks forward to developing Cebu City’s mountain barangays, as well as Osmeña Peak in southern Cebu and the vegetable farms in Dalaguete as tourist attractions. He added that all the tourism improvements he has in mind for the region will not be the department’s job alone. There is a need for partnership with the local players in the in the industry, as well as local and national government agencies, especially for infrastructure, and some of the nitty gritty needs of world class tourism like decent comfort rooms in Hagnaya port and in the whale watching area in the southern town of Oslob.
Asked what are his favorite tourist spots abroad, he answers:
“Disneyland and Universal Studios—because they are happy places. When you are there, you just want to enjoy the whole place, not just for a day but for several days.” For him it is a place where one can truly de-stress.
In a speech he delivered in a gathering of his close family and a few friends, he said he expects to be retired here in Cebu, making it a fitting end to his career in the industry which, he remarks, "is very rewarding when you see the fruits of your labors.”
When Chan retires, he plans to go into organic farming, whether in Camiguin or in Pinamungahan where the family also has a piece of land. But it will be organic farming which he will also make into a tourist attraction.
In the meantme, he says he relaxes his mind not by planting but by going fishing.
Tourism Region 7 Director Catalino E. “Butch” Chan III has been a few months based in Cebu in his job and he has had busy, busy days since then, going around the region, assessing each locality’s tourism potential: expect Region 7 tourism to grow under his watch.