AS A home of President Rodrigo Duterte and a home of various major events, tourist arrivals in Davao City continue to increase each year.
City Tourism Operations Office head Generose Tecson said Thursday, March 14, that in 2018, they have recorded a total of two million tourists in 2017, 2.4 million in 2018, and is now targeting at least 2.8 million this year.
“Noong mayroon pa lang balita na tatakbo si [President Rodrigo Duterte] na tatakbo siya as president, mayroon ng increase because people are curious about Davao City. Ano ba yung Davao City? Ano yung sinasabi nilang peaceful doon? And when he became President, umakyat na talaga yung arrivals natin,” Tecson said.
“We had not looked back since then kasi continuous na yung pag-akyat and everybody wants to be here in Davao,” she added.
The rise of the city to fame continued right after the Duterte sat as president of the country when major events such as Palarong Pambansa, Alveo Ironman 70.3 thriathlon, National Private Schools Athletic Association (Prisaa), Kadayawan and other events that boosts tourism.
Moreover, Tecson said the increase will benefit the Dabawneyos and the city as a whole in terms of development and economy.
“Ang tourism industry is a fragmented industry. It’s not like a still company. It is composed of different sectors; we have the hotel industry, restaurants, tour operators, tour guides and transportation. Iba-iba sila but each one is dependent to another,”
“Maraming visitors na papasok, hindi nila kailangan ng hotel lang. Kailangan nila ng restaurant, transportation, or kailangan nila bumili ng souvenirs. Habang umaakyat ang number of tourists, mas marami ang nagbe-benefit,” she said.
Meanwhile, Tecson said that they will increase their target from target seven to eight percent to 10-12 percent as they see that the tourism industry in Davao City is doing well.