Cebu should be ready before we market it—DOT 7 chief

“WE have to make sure that our product is ready before we tap other markets.”

Director Rowena Montecillo of the Department of Tourism in Central Visayas gave this advice to the  Coalition of Fourteen Business Chambers and CSOs (civil society organizations) on the coalition’s suggestion to push for  better infrastructure.

The coalition presented last Friday its draft Cebu Tourism Roadmap.

It recommended going beyond  traditional markets of   South Korea and Japan  tourists who make up the top two foreign tourist groups and to start promoting Cebu in China, India and  developed countries in the west like the US and European countries whose travellers spend more days and time when the come.

“I agree that most of them are long-staying guests and spend more but we have to make sure that our product is ready before we go and market aggressively,” said Montecillo about the proposal.

Recently, Montecillo announced that Australia’s Wild Orchid Airlines will start chartering flights from Darwin, Australia to Cebu this December.

The airline aims to offer  20 chartered flights  until next year carrying at least 150 Australians in each flight.

“Australians are mostly adventure seekers so we have to prepare for that. Do we have the right product for them? I believe so with Cebu being a very unique destination that offers just about everything from beaches to the heritage sites to spa and wellness. All we need  is  a plan that will determine how we can move forward and push for these products,” said Montecillo.

Montecillo suggested that Cebu develop further its spa and wellness sector  and medical tourism    because these industries could be packaged with resorts and cultural tours.

According to Prof. Fernando “Perry” Fajardo, Cebu Business Club executive director, in his presentation, the roadmap’s strategic objective is to make “Cebu among Asia’s top tourist destinations of choice.”

He said  stakeholders  have to come together and create a Cebu-wide body or council to lead the planning for this growth.

Montecillo said  she was open to this suggestion and that the  tourism council should be lead by the private sector.

She cited the Bohol Tourism Council as an example. It is  led by the private sector but also involves different government agencies and local government units.

According to Jay Aldeguer, president of Is lands Group, in a statement,  the draft Cebu Tourism Roadmap is a step towards the goal of making Cebu a world-class destination.

Aldeguer said that experts are needed to guide the process.

“I think all the concerns and suggestions are valid and remarkable. The stakeholders seem to have bought into this which is good. What we need are experts to guide us through the whole process of transforming or enhancing Cebu if we truly want Cebu to be a world-class destination,” Aldeguer said.

Radisson Blu Hotel was also aiming to diversify its market and get more long-staying guests in the hotel, said Ann Olalo, Radisson Blu Hotel Cebu director of sales and marketing, in a recent interview.

“The Australians are a good market because they stay longer and spend more. They are not the typical budget travelers,”she  said.

She said she hoped that the China market would recover soon, which was affected by the Scarborough Shoal dispute.

By 2016, Fajardo said that Cebu should already have at least 4 million tourist at a 15 percent annual growth rate and should be at par with  Asian neighbors like  Bali, Penang and Phuket.

Aside from the creation of a Cebu-wide tourism council, Fajardo  listed  immediate programs for tourism including a one-stop tourist information and service center, a marketing and promotions plan, a cluster beautification project, the widening of the Mactan circumferential road and Naga-Carcar road, the Marcelo Fernan tri-level flyover, the preparation of Metro Cebu Development Master Plan, the Mactan Island Tourism Master Plan, and an update of the Cebu City circumferential road study.

“These projects should be realized within one to two years,” said Fajardo.

The other short-term projects cited include the Cebu City Bus Rapid Transit, new Mactan Airport terminal, Hernan Cortes road widening, Cebu north coastal road constructions, Talisay-Naga road widening, and Mountain Barangay Tourism Development Project.

The midterm projects or projects to be started within three to five years include ebu Circumferetial road should start construction, Olango Eco-tourism bird sanctuary development, Mactan Aqua-ville tourism development, Cansaga Bay Aqua tourism development, Municipal tourist pier developemnt, widening of Cebu City-Hagnaya Port Road, and widening of Cebu southwest Road.