Taiwanese tourists fill hole left by Chinese in Cebu, Bohol

Travel  and booking cancellations by mainland Chinese tourists are affecting the businesses of tour operators and resorts in Bohol and Cebu, two of the country’s major tourist destinations.

The vacancies left by cancellations, however, were partly filled by Taiwanese tourists, who had revived their interest in visiting the Philippines by the middle of 2011, according to Bohol-based businesswoman Lourdes Sultan.

Sultan, owner of the Village Floating Resto and Cruises, said about 400 Chinese tourists cancelled their bookings a few days after the Chinese government issued a warning against traveling to the Philippines on May 11.

“The Chinese tourists travel in groups so there is really a significant drop in terms of numbers. The Taiwanese tourists have returned again after visiting Bohol middle of last year, so that in a way serves as a buffer,” Sultan told the Philippine Daily Inquirer in a phone interview.

In Cebu, Shangri-La’s Mactan Island Resort and Spa sales and marketing director Agnes Pacis admitted receiving requests for postponement of bookings although she expressed confidence that the situation was temporary and would not adversely effect overall business.

On Caohagan Island, located 40 minutes from Lapu-Lapu City, jet ski driver Jejemar Taghoy noted a big drop in the number of regular Chinese tourists.

The 24-year-old Taghoy said his weekly income of P5,000 has gone down to P2,000.

“Our regular tourists advised our office that they cannot travel to the Philippines at the moment. I think it is because of the dispute between the two governments,” he said in Cebuano.

Last Thursday, Barangay Caohagan Chair Ranilo Abayan said that more than 100 Taiwanese tourists visited the island known for its fresh seafood and quilts.

The tourists were booked in resorts in Bohol and Cebu.

Taiwanese Mai Lingling said she was traveling with her family and staying at a Bohol resort.

“The Philippines is safe. There is nothing to worry about. You have good food, good people and good scenery. It’s a place for relaxation,” she said.

Cebu Association of Tour Operators director Alice Queblatin said hotel and transport operators as well as restaurants were directly affected by the travel advisory since Chinese nationals were their top clients next to Koreans.

Airline companies such as Zest Air and Cebu Pacific have suspended chartered flights from Chinese cities to the Philippines.

Cebu Pacific vice president for marketing and distribution Candice Iyog has announced that beginning May 12, they will suspend their twice weekly charter service between Shanghai and Clark on the request of the charterer based in China.

But all other Cebu Pacific flights to mainland China destinations namely, Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou and China’s special administration regions, Hong Kong and Macau, would continue to operate as scheduled.

Cecile Saa, president of travel agency Blue Horizons, described cancellations as “the most unwanted and unwelcome work for travel and tour operators because its results means business loss to operators.”

“Definitely, it will lower tourist arrivals in the country. The Chinese embassy might have issued travel advisories to their people to hold on to travel plans to the Philippines until the issues are resolved and this might take a long wait to normalize,” Saa said.

The Department of Tourism in Central Visayas recorded 55,000 tourists from China in 2011. About 20,000 Chinese nationals visited the region in the first two months of 2012. Inquirer