CEBU will still get to enjoy high tourist arrivals amid Bohol’s opening of its own international airport.
Tourism Secretary Bernadette Puyat believes that before jumping to other island destinations, tourists will still opt to land in Cebu and enjoy its unique tourism offerings.
Puyat said Cebu is already an established brand in the global tourism market, citing the province’s good food, warm hospitality, pristine beaches and other natural wonders, as some of the factors that will sustain its steady arrivals.
The tourism chief shared that in one of her visits to Japan and London, foreign guests identified a visit to furniture designer Kenneth Cobonpue’s showroom as being in their bucket list when they come to Cebu.
She also believes more tourists will continue to visit Cebu, as more Cebuanos rise in the global spotlight in the area of furniture and fashion. Puyat cited Neil Felipp San Pedro’s collection of handbags, whose pieces were used in the Hollywood blockbuster, “Crazy Rich Asians,” as an added boost to Cebu’s image as a crowd drawer.
The P7.8-billion Panglao airport is expected to open this month. The new airport in Bohol will have a capacity of two million passengers a year.
Earlier, Cebu tourism stakeholders said the opening of Panglao airport poses a challenge for Cebu to step up its tourism offerings.
After the Boracay closure, Department of Tourism (DOT) officials will visit other key tourism destinations in the country to ensure they practice sustainable tourism.
Puyat said her office has been giving out warning letters to destinations like La Union, El Nido and Coron in Palawan and Panglao to work on their environmental compliance.
Puyat said regional directors will be going around the destinations to inspect and remind local government units (LGUs) of their responsibility. Should LGUs refuse to take action, Puyat said that’s the time they will report it to the President.
“We will be making Boracay as a model for sustainable tourism and that tourism establishments should be 100 percent compliant to environmental laws,” she said, adding that her office will be merely enforcing existing laws.
As Boracay opens to tourists this month, Puyat said the public has to manage their expectations as efforts still continue to rehabilitate the island. She said there are still some roads that need to be fixed, among others.
As of Oct. 6, some 25 hotels and resorts with a total of 2,063 rooms were recorded as fully compliant, which means they are the only hotels and resorts allowed by the DOT to accept bookings or house guests.
But Puyat said more rooms will be opening leading to the soft-opening date, provided they are marked fully compliant by the DOT, Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Department of Interior and Local Government.
Yesterday, the DOT met with the airline companies to discuss measures on Boracay’s soft-opening.
Puyat said airlines are one of the major partners in ensuring that the island’s carrying capacity is observed, knowing that 98 percent of tourists that go to Boracay fly by air.
Boracay will implement a carrying capacity of 6,405 tourists per day. The island will be opened to the public in phases. The second phase is slated in April 2019 and third phase in December 2019.