Tourism over-development unhealthy for Cebu - Bragg

CEBU, Philippines -  While Cebu’s tourism strength has yet to reach its full potential, industry players are cautioned to take good care of the province’s “fragile beauty” as over-development might hamper the realization of Cebu’s bid to become one of the world’s best destinations.

Shangri-La's Mactan Resort and Spa general manager Raymond Bragg expressed his concerns over the fast development of Cebu as a tourism destination, which if done carelessly and compromising environmental resources, will bring no good for the province.

"Cebu has so much to offer, it has not yet touched its full potential, look around the region, there are a lot of [potential] attractions. But development should be done properly, yet fast," Bragg said.

Bragg cited the looming water shortage in Cebu in the next few years saying that if players will not cooperate in finding a resolution to this inevitable problem, the province’s water supply problem will worsen with the overwhelming interest on building tourism-related facilities.

He mentioned that for Shangri-La, the property is utilizing 95 percent of its total water requirement from desalination system, this kind of alternative source could save Cebu from facing dangerous water problem in the future.

He said industry players must not continue relying on the consistent supply or outside supplies but rather must cooperate in adopting alternative ways to source out water, of which desalination is one.       

"We have to make sure that development of infrastructure can cope with the growth of tourism at the same time not to compromise the environment," he said in an interview.

Cebu should learn lessons from other areas, wherein over-development is now becoming a problem and the environment becoming the number one casualty.

Plantation Bay Resort and Spa general manager Efren Belarmino said that it is important for the existing players in the tourism sector to lead the campaign in taking care of the environment, especially in Mactan to sustain its attractiveness, which is largely capitalizing on the environment, especially beaches and ocean.

Currently, there are several tourism-related big projects that are building facilities on the Island including the first boutique hotel built by Shangri-La’s Mactan Resort and Spa.

Developers such as Filinvest, Sta. Lucia, Robinsons Land, Korean-led company BXT, among others are building their own multi-million or more than a billion peso facilities, to take advantage of the island's attraction to travelers, and even long-term vacationers.

Bragg said while it is good to see the developments to complement Cebu's charm to attract the world market, the cause to take care of the environment should be the foremost priority.