Camarines Sur’s emergence as a leading tourism destination in the country is a wake-up call that Cebuanos simply cannot ignore.
So said Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia, who proposed that the province come up with an advertising campaign like Camarines Sur’s “Come to Camsur, Come to Wake-boarding.”
“Advertisements like ‘Come to Camsur, Come to Wakeboarding.’ I think it’s about time we have to advertise Cebu. Maybe not wake-boarding, I don’t know that. Probably horse-riding,” Garcia said in jest.
The governor, who originated the Suroy-Suroy tourism program in 2008, proposed this as Cebu’s tourism stakeholders called for an aggressive, coordinated promotions and branding campaign for the province.
During yesterday’s stop in Toledo City as part of the Suroy-Suroy Midwest trail tour, the governor said Cebu had become complacent and relied too much on word-of-mouth endorsements and advertisements.
She also lauded the marketing strategies of Camarines Sur Gov. Luis Villafuerte.
“We’re too complacent that the tourists know about the province. But I see now that’s not the way to go. We cannot just be too laid back,” she said.
Stiff competition
The governor, who was recently included in the senatorial lineup of the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) ticket of Vice President Jejomar Binay, said the Capitol has yet to draft an advertising campaign for Cebu.
“I am seriously thinking of being more aggressive in our marketing strategy to sell Cebu because the competition itself is very stiff,” she said.
For their part, stakeholders called for collaboration between the private sector and government.
Resort operators said what Cebu lacked is a collaborated effort between the private sector and the local and national governments in promoting Cebu as a complete tourism destination.
“We’re a shopping destination, leisure, culture, religion, ecotourism and more. However, we’re not promoting Cebu well than others. What we have are individual efforts,” said Maribago Bluewater Beach Resort executive Rhyz Buac.
In a phone interview, Buac said Cebu isn’t being packaged in a way that would ensure maximum exposure and visibility to domestic and foreign tourists.
“The private sector is doing their own promotion. Hotels and resorts like us go to sales and promotional tours but we still have not done it as one, as a whole Cebu. Perhaps if we do that we can also achieve what Camsur achieved,” Buac said.
Direct flights
Former Department of Tourism regional director Patria Aurora Roa said while Cebu already has the support services like hotels, resorts and restaurants, it’s losing more direct flights to international markets.
“The overcapacity of our airports must be addressed as it will define convenience for tourists when they come here. That way we can ensure repeat visits and good reviews which will be another marketing strategy for Cebu,” she said.
Cebu has been positioning itself as a hub and to achieve that, Roa said there should be more international direct flights to Cebu.
Roa said Cebu can very well tap the MICE market or meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions market.
“If we fix these issues, Cebu can have more and earn more from the tourists because we offer so many options for our tourists and we are also in proximity to other nearby provinces which also have their own offerings for tourism,” she said.
Movenpick Resorts and Spa Cebu communications manager Joanna Marie Cuenco also echoed the same point.
“Cebu needs more direct flights from key markets and better airport facilities more befitting of an international tourist destination,” she said.
United strategy
Cebu Association of Tour Operators president Cecille Sa-a said that it is time for all stakeholders to come together with government to come up with a united strategy.
Plantation Bay Resort and Spa general manager Efren Belarmino said if Camsur was able to draw as much as 2.33 million from marketing themselves as the water sports capital in the country, Cebu can do better.
“In fact, we are also slowly introducing some watersports activities in our property. We can offer more. All we need is that common ground where we can start and work together. We have to make a lot louder noise,” Belarmino said.
DOT regional director Rowena Montecillo said they’re always willing to work with the private sector in promoting Cebu.
Based on their latest figures, Cebu had 1.9 million tourists last year.
While this represented an increase of 8.7 percent from the 1.7 million in 2010, Cebu ranked third behind Manila which registered 2.3 million tourist arrivals that same year.
Camarines Sur’s tourism growth nearly doubled from the 1.56 million tourists in 2009 to 2.33 million in 2010.
One stop tourism haven
That was a far cry from the 258,608 tourists Camarines Sur registered in 2006.
In Lapu-Lapu City, Mayor Paz Radaza said they plan to set up more water sports facilities.
“We’ve heard that a wake boarding facility is about to come to Pandanon island in Bohol,” she said.
Radaza admitted that doing so would cost millions owing to the expensive real estate values in the city.
She also said some of these facilities would have to be brought from Singapore.
Despite this, Radaza said they are asking interested investors to also set up sports facilities so they can package Lapu-Lapu City as a one-stop tourism destination for tourists. With Correspondent Norman V. Mendoza