CAPITOL officials are expecting more tourists from Taiwan to come to Cebu following its inclusion in a list of 10 cities that are considered popular holiday destinations for Taiwanese nationals.
Provincial Tourism Office (PTO) head Joselito “Boboi” Costas believes that the inclusion of Cebu on the annual report of online travel company Expedia could help boost more arrivals.
In its annual report, Expedia named Cebu as among the 10 popular holiday destinations for Taiwanese travelers. Cebu joined other popular international destinations in the list like Hong Kong, Tokyo, Bangkok, Seoul, Osaka, Shanghai, Macau, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur.
It was the first time that Cebu and Kuala Lumpur were included in list of primary up and coming tourist destinations for Taiwanese travelers.
Expedia said one contributing factor in Cebu’s popularity among Taiwanese tourists is the availability of new flights from budget airlines to the Philippines.
For Costas, Cebu’s inclusion in the Expedia list could be because Taiwanese nationals often visit the province for its beaches.
Another factor is the short trip from Taiwan to Cebu. “It’s a welcome development, especially that it’s a short trip from Taiwan to Cebu. So I expect that there will be a lot of tourists. Short distance travel is also becoming a trend nowadays. People now would love to go to destinations which are near compared to long-haul travel,” Costas said in Cebuano.
Costas believes community-driven tourism destinations could benefit from the influx of Taiwanese tourists, since they prefer bed-and-breakfast accommodations. “They book bed-and-breakfast, which will benefit community-based or local businesses. They could help stimulate the local economy in Cebu,” Costas added.
Vice Gov. Agnes Magpale, who heads the Provincial Tourism Commission, said she is happy with the development, especially since the Province doesn’t have any sisterhood agreement with any of Taiwan’s localities. Only Cebu City has a sisterhood agreement with the city of Kaohsiung.
“Cebu Province doesn’t have a sisterhood agreement with Taiwan and and neither are they members of Eatof (East Asian Tourism Forum). But I’m sure they would have gotten feedback about Cebu,” Magpale said.
Taiwanese nationals are sixth in terms of the number of foreign tourists that visit Cebu. (AZLG OF SUPERBALITA CEBU, JKV)