It started with a question. After 25 years of living in Cebu, Herbert Dionzon, a former overseas Filipino worker and now entrepreneur, found himself wondering, “What else does Cebu have to offer?” Beyond its postcard-perfect seascapes and already-famous encounters, could there be something deeper, more purposeful?
Fast forward to today, and that question has reeled in a full-blown community tourism project: “Fisherman-for-a-day,” an immersive experience that lets guests fish, cook and share meals with real local fisherfolk.
But getting there wasn’t easy. “I didn’t have enough experience in community development,” Herbert, founder and chief executive officer of HiveRooms, admitted. “That was the challenge. So we partnered with the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) and identified fisherfolk communities from there.”
Two years in the making
What began as a conceptual retirement project in 2017, building HiveRooms, a tourism marketplace business, slowly evolved into something more socially rooted. The idea was to create more meaningful encounters between visitors and locals, and bring direct economic opportunities to the grassroots.
That seed of a vision found fertile ground when Herbert met Enrique San Juan, co-founder and vice president for Business Development of Seed4Com, whose non-profit organization was connected with fisherfolk communities around Cebu. Together, they crafted “Fisherman-for-a-Day,” a pilot initiative that’s both a tourism experience and a livelihood model.
Herbert presented the six economic touchpoints of the “Fisherman-for-a-Day” immersive experience, starting with the “Pamainit,” a staple early morning light bite pairing a hot chocolate drink called sikwate (hot chocolate) and puto maya (glutinous rice cake), a mangrove tour, traditional fishing, fish feeding, a catch of the day meal and pasalubong smoked bangus.
Community, not commodity
Rather than create a packaged tour that turns locals into performers, the project flips the script. Guests work alongside the fishermen. One part is adventure and the other, immersion.
“We’re seeing a growing market for purposeful travel,” Enrique explained. “People want more than itineraries. They want connection. They want personal dialogues with the people who live here.”
“The way to solve an economic gap,” Enrique added, “is to provide an economic solution.”
To that end, every detail of the experience has been carefully designed to benefit the host community.
“With ‘Fisherman-for-a-Day,’ we're not just giving people a unique travel experience; we're also creating sustainable jobs, honoring coastal heritage, and turning communities into champions of marine conservation," said Bernard Sia, VP of Business Development of the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Over time, the program is expanding into value-adding, transforming fresh catch like bangus into ready-to-serve meals or smoked specialties. It’s part of a larger cycle that aims to give the fishermen not only income but also identity.
“Most of them are already in their late 50s to 60s,” Enrique said. “This is another way to show the younger generation that there are still economic opportunities in fishing if we innovate.”
Cordova Mayor Cesar "Didoy" Suan expressed his gratitude and commended HiveRooms for choosing Cordova, Cebu as the launch site for the “Fisherman-for-a-Day” program. He pledged his full support for the initiative’s development and lauded the continued commitment of an international non-governmental organization based in Germany, AFOS Foundation and the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry in supporting Cordova’s fisherfolk people's organization over the years.
Currently, “Fisherman-for-a-Day” runs once a week, every Saturday, with a cap of 20 to 30 guests per trip. The idea isn’t volume but it’s value. Every visit is designed to feel intimate and rooted in the lives of the locals.
When Herbert and Enrique conducted their early simulations, they arrived at dawn. They didn’t come with cameras and drones. They came with ears wide open.
“We visited the community two to three times just to listen,” Enrique said. “We crafted the program with them.” S