CEBU, Philippines – Camarines Sur provincial governor Luis Raymund Villafuerte, Jr. is currently courting airlines to consider a direct flight from Naga City to Cebu City to promote synergy in tourism as both destinations offer complementing activities that maximize travelers’ experience.
Villafuerte recognized the importance of connecting to Cebu a direct flight to strengthen both province’s tourism advantages.
CamSur, which is known for its government-owned sports and adventure tourism facilities aims to make Cebu as an important partner in drawing not only the local tourists from the Southern Philippines, but also to give Cebu tourism stakeholders a wider option of tour itineraries for foreign visitors.
The Capital City of CamSur, Naga City is now an emerging sports and adventure tourism capital in the Philippines, as the provincial government spent multi-million pesos to operate several tourism-related facilities such as the six-hectare CamSur Watersports Complex (CWC), and will soon establish the world’s first largest downhill bike trail.
The province is now becoming one of the favorite destinations of international adventure travelers, especially those from Europe and United Kingdom.
In an interview with Villafuerte, he said that Cebu and CamSur should strengthen their partnership in terms of promoting tourism, Cebu being the hub in the Southern Philippines region can bring domestic tourists to CamSur, experiencing different tourist-designed activities, as well providing foreign tourists a wider option for leisure activities, of which itinerary tours will not be limited to neighboring islands in the Visayas.
With a direct flight from Cebu to Naga City in region 5, Villafuerte said Cebu can also enjoy increased number of domestic and foreign tourists originally booked for CamSur leisure tour and will consider Cebu as an alternative destination.
The young Governor who started an active government-led enterprise strategy said that because of the province’s very active stance in promoting sports and adventure tourism, the province earned P90 million in revenue last year, and provided over 3,000 employment opportunities for the constituents.
For its Sports Tourism facility the CWC, CamSur is taking advantage of the world’s fastest growing water-sports activity the—wake boarding, he said this is something that Cebu could take advantage in terms of bringing local and foreign tourists to CamSur.
Cebu on the other hand, known as the “Queen City of South” could draw tourists (local and foreign) originally booked for CamSur trip, to consider Cebu for a diverse activities, which include accommodation of five-star resort like Shangri-La, island hopping experience, among others.
At present, Villafuerte said he is trying to convince airline operators like Cebu Pacific, Zest Air, and PAL Express to consider this Naga-Cebu-Naga direct flight option, while he also pushing for Naga-Boracay direct flight.
CamSur is the most active provincial government, which ventured into revenue generating enterprise projects. Villafuerte said the revenue last year of CWC for instance went to scholarship fund for the province.
CamSur is sourcing the capitalization funds for its several tourism and Information Technology (IT Park) related projects, from its P2 billion loan from Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP).
In the next few years, CamSur provincial government will also build resorts, and other tourism and IT projects that will generate more employment and revenue for the province.
“I would like to prove to the people that government can earn money too,” he said.
CamSur is one of the provinces in the Bicol region (Region 5), which is part of the Central Philippines peninsula being promoted by the Department of Tourism (DOT) as tourism-center of the country, which also includes Central Visayas. –THE FREEMAN