The bike race route of the Ironman 70.3 passing through the South Road Properties (SRP) is like giving the Cebu City government a “free advertisement” of the 290-hectare reclamation project, said Rep. Tomas Osmeña of Cebu City’s south district.
He said that creating “visibility” will attract more investments in the city.
“It’s incremental. Exposing the property makes people talk about the property,” Osmena told Cebu Daily News.
“Anything that creates visibility helps the SRP,” said Osmeña although he won’t be able to watch today’s race this monring because of a 5 a.m. trip to Manila.
Still, Osmeña said hosting the Ironman 70.3 , an international event which is gaining more participants since it started in the Philippines three years ago, is good for Cebu’s tourism traffic.
“If we do plenty of similar events, yes that will lead to the promotion of Cebu as a sports tourism destination,” he said.
Osmena said Cebu has the facilities and infrastructure .
What’s lacking is the interconnection among tourism industry players, he said, like in other countries like Hong Kong.
“They also share information about their competitors as an alternative to what they have to offer,” he added. Chief of Reporters Doris C. Bongcac