Zamboanga City pulls all stops in promoting tourism

ZAMBOANGA CITY—Many people are afraid to come but the Queen of Spain felt at home when she visited the city in July last year.

But before her, then Sen. Benigno Aquino III went on a spiritual retreat and found peace and comfort at Carmelite Monastery standing on the picturesque boulevard that gives a romantic view of the sun kissing the sea.

It could even be safely claimed that Zamboanga City made a President because his sojourn here helped the then senator decide to run in 2010.

“Don’t you go to far Zamboanga” may be fitting words for those who are scared but the song echoes in the hearts of those who have fallen in love with El Ciudad Hermosa.

Ride in her waves, roll in the pink sand and swirl in a riot of colors: These are just some of the many ways to experience Zamboanga—and there’s still more in store for everyone in this vibrant city, which is at the tip of the Zamboanga Peninsula.

These are the reasons the city government is raising the ante in its tourism promotion.

Today marks the launch of the city’s new advertising campaign.

The latest drive is a direct invitation to visitors and locals alike to zoom in again and take a closer look at the many reasons, some still unknown, why people love Zamboanga and many call it their home.

The Subanens, who are river folks, called the city Jambangan in the old days, which means “land of flowers.” Others called her Orgullo de Mindanao and recently branded her as Asia’s Latin City—in deference to Spanish-based Creole Chavacano and other Hispanic influences in the culture.

The old Spanish fort, now home to the miraculous image of Nuestra Señora La Virgen del Pilar and the National Museum, are “recuerdos de la presencia de España (memories of Spain’s presence).”

Zamboanga’s titles are indeed as colorful as its history, as rich as its culture and traditions, and as diverse as its people.

A highly urbanized city with more than 800,000 inhabitants, Zamboanga is home to native Chavacano speakers, tribes of Tausug, Yakan, Sama and Subanen, as well as migrants from neighboring provinces.

It has become the bastion of Christianity in Mindanao since the first Catholic diocese was established here amid the minarets of mosques that dot the skyline and Chinese temples that reflect a lively Filipino-Chinese community.

A visit to Zamboanga is not just about its cultural and historic attractions—as what the Zamboanga Hermosa Festival next month offers—but be ready to get wet in an ecotrek to see the curtain-like cascades of Merloquet Falls in Barangay Sibulao in the east coast.

The scenic falls are now becoming a popular destination that even not so neophyte visitors are awed by its pristine waters gushing down her tier while surrounded by a lush canopy of trees. Sitting in the falls for a natural water massage will surely take your stress away, visitors would say.