THE municipal government of Sta. Cruz in Davao del Sur on Monday signed a memorandum of agreement with the regional office of the Department of Tourism (DOT) in Davao formalizing their partnership for the 9th International Mt. Apo Boulder Face Challenge 2016 slated in April 2016.
The event will be a part of the Visit Davao Fun Sale (VDFS) 2016 that will kick off March 25, 2016 and will end on May 31.
The challenge will open an Elite Adventure Race which will cover four disciplines namely -- mountain biking, trail running, water tubing, and road running; and Vertical Sky Trail Run which will have two categories -- the 42k and 21k run.
The winners of the adventure race will receive cash prizes from the organizers -- P100,000 will be awarded to the champion of the event, P75,000 for the second placer, P50,000 for the third placer, and P10,000 to five teams as consolation.
Julius Paner, senior tourism officer of Sta. Cruz said: "We have been doing this for the last eight years, we hope that our partnership with the DOT will attract more participants and hopefully more tourists in our area."
The 10-week engagement of VDFS will have three major categories which are: Adventure and Sports, Culture and Arts, and Fun and leisure.
VDFS will feature eight discounted adventure and cultural tour packages from islands to highlands at more than 50 percent of their original costs.
DOT regional director Roberto P. Alabado, III said on Monday's edition of the Kapehan sa Dabaw at SM City Annex that the region holds a lot of destination for tourists to unravel.
"According to surveys, a huge number of visitors have been going to the Island Garden of Samal for the past years; hence, we have included the island in this ten-week annual project," added Alabado.
With regards to the abduction incident last September, the security forces in the island was even more heightened to make the guests feel safe.
"We have increased visibility and arranged protocols to come up with smooth operations in the hotels and resorts of the island," he said.