Tourists take photos while enjoying a stretch of white sand beach in Barangay Burias in Glan, Sarangani. (BONG SARMIENTO/FILE PHOTO)
KORONADAL CITY — Mindanao’s version of Boracay, the coastal town of Glan in Sarangani province, has started accepting guests from within and outside the Soccsksargen region.
Glan Mayor Vivien Yap said that visitors need to first book with resorts before they are allowed entry.
“Guests shall stay within the resort they’re accommodated as we don’t allow beach hopping,” she said.
The town is famous for its fine white sand beaches, especially in Gumasa district, although it has over two dozen beach resorts catering to different budgets.
Tourists from within Soccsksargen will need to present the DVY Cares quick response code that can be accessed at www.glan.ph, and the booking confirmation slip from the resort.
The Soccsksargen rgion is made up of the provinces of Cotabato, South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and Sarangani, and the cities of Kidapawan, Tacurong, Koronadal and General Santos.
Tourists from other regions will have to present a medical certificate as an additional requirement.
Yap reminded visitors to always observe proper health protocols such as hand washing or sanitizing, wearing of face masks and physical distancing as a precaution against the coronavirus.
She said the resorts were instructed to accommodate up to 50 percent of its capacity in line with the directive of the COVID-19 Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases.
White sand beaches in Glan, Sarangani, including those in Barangay Burias is a major tourist attraction. (BONG SARMIENTO/FILE PHOTO)
A bucolic town an hour away from General Santos City, Glan is the top tourism destination of Sarangani. It is marketed to tourists as the “Boracay of the South.”
Glan hosts the annual Sarangani Bay Festival or SarBay Fest launched in 2006 and billed as the biggest beach party in Mindanao.
Through the years, the festival has become the ultimate summer beach party scene in Mindanao, attracting thousands of visitors with its night-long music by popular bands and water sports-related activities.
In 2016, SarBay Fest attracted 150,000 tourists.
Last year, the festival was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The event was also suspended in 2017 due to security concerns following the Marawi siege.