Starting April, tourists to pay more for Loboc river cruise

COMMUNING WITH NATURE The Loboc River Cruise brings tourists visiting Bohol closer to nature through one of the province’s most important waterways. The hourlong cruise also offers visitors a glimpse of local culture and cuisine. —LEO UDTOHAN

TAGBILARAN CITY—Tourists will have to pay more when dining in floating restaurants while cruising along Loboc River, a popular destination in Bohol province.

An advisory released by the Loboc municipal tourism office on Monday showed that starting April 1, the regular river cruise rate of P850 would go up to P1,000 per tourist.

A discounted rate of P800 would be given to senior citizens while children who are below 3 feet would be free of charge. Children between 3 feet and 4 feet tall would be charged P412 each while those above 4 feet would pay the full rate.

The river cruise rate includes a lunch buffet and a stopover to watch local performers singing and dancing.

READ: Loboc river’s water level subsides after reaching critical level

A popular destination, the 2-kilometer cruise runs for about an hour, starting from neighboring Loay town. It stops midway to allow visitors to watch a short performance of singers and dancers in traditional baro’t saya. Once it reaches Busai Falls, the floating restaurant turns around and heads back to its origin.

Five establishments operate the river cruise.

‘Essential’

The planned increase received some backlash on social media. Netizens noted that the rate increase was ill-timed, especially that local officials had yet to resolve the controversy surrounding the illegal structures built within the Chocolate Hills (See related story on this page).In a statement, the Loboc Bohol Tourism, the local tourism office, said the price increase was “essential.”

“Both the local government of Loboc and the Association of Loboc Floating Restaurant Operators (Alfro) are doing their best to provide the necessary improvements for the Loboc River Cruise to be globally competitive,” it said.

There have been increases in the operational costs, including the price of fresh ingredients, which the commissary sources locally “to ensure the finest quality in our dishes,” it said.

“We are committed to supporting our local suppliers, and unfortunately, they too are dealing with rising costs … We believe in investing in our staff as well. This means providing them with regular training to enhance their skills and improve the service they provide. We also believe in paying our staff a fair salary for their hard work,” it added.

The statement said Alfro also had to invest in the maintenance and improvement of the floating restaurants. They had to build 10 more boats to replace those destroyed during Typhoon “Odette” in 2021.