Toledo aims to develop City’s tourism potential

While Toledo City has strongly built its name as the industrial investment capital in the western seaboard of Cebu province, it also aims to maximize its tourism potential to further boost economic activity in the area.

Toledo City Mayor Arlene E. Zambo expressed her plans to develop “Tourism Trail” in some potential tourism spots in the City, to attract a sizeable number of local and foreign tourists, capitalizing on its mountain resources, and huge river bank called “Sapang Daku.”

In an interview with Zambo, she said that there ongoing plans to develop the “Sapang Daku” as one of the tourism comeons of the City.

“We are going to shift a little from being an industrial site, and diversify slowly to strengthen our tourism edge,” she said.

The City government of Toledo is going to transform the “Sapang Daku” river to a full-scale tourism spot, inviting investors to set up floating restaurants, trekking adventure facilities, even a nature-based theme park to boost the tourism advantage of the City.

According to Zambo, Toledo City has to develop an alternative livelihood opportunity through tourism, so that residents will not fully depend on the industrial-based employment.

Zambo said the City has learned its lessons from what happened to Toledo years back, when the Atlas Mining Consolidated decided to shut down the copper mining operation, which affected the livelihood of a vast majority of Toledo residents.

“We have to develop an alternative livelihood opportunities, not solely depending on the industrial-based employment,” she reiterated.

Tourism is one of the top pick industries that will serve as “back-up” livelihood for Toledo City residents, including people from neighboring towns, pushing residents to be tourism-entrepreneurs.

In the past, Zambo said the tourism advantage of the City was not fully maximized because people were focused on the industrial advantage of the area.

Although, the re-opening of the Atlas Mining this year, could spell a revival of strong economy for Toledo, she said there is a need to also capitalize on the City’s tourism attractions.

For one, she said the mining operations in the City, is already an attraction for educational tours, through “mining tours,” but this has to be strengthened further and give alternative destinations for educational tourists such as providing leisure facilities, like mountain trekking, mountain or nature site seeing, among others.

The good location of Toledo City, as the entry point of travelers coming from other provinces, like Negros is already a strong advantage to attract not only educational tourists, but leisure, and adventure travel enthusiasts as well.

She said the development of “Tourism Trail” in Toledo could also provide additional tour-package options for travel operators bringing foreign tourists to Cebu.

However, Zambo admitted that a lot of work has to be done to realize the Tourism Trail starting with the putting of the adequate tourism infrastructure and to invite capitalists to invest in hotel businesses in the City to accommodate growing visitors. —Ehda M. Dagooc