Islands Group invests P10M for the Talima adventure park

CEBU, Philippines - The Islands Group of Companies, the operator of Islands Banca Cruises, is investing P10 million for the creation of Cebu’s first Island-based water adventure park at Talima Island in Mactan.

Islands Group chief executive officer (CEO) Jay Aldeguer told The Freeman yesterday that the company will open the one-hectare park at Talima Island, which will offer different water and land based adventure activities, such as kayaking, and rock climbing, among others.

“Large portion of the activities will be on the shallow sea,” Aldeguer said.

The more or less P10 million investments will only be used for the phase one development of the project.

Aldeguer said this is one of the company’s moves to provide facilities and activities that will bolster the adventure tourism niche of Cebu.

The Talima Adventure Park will also support the company’s Islands Banca Cruises choices of offerings for Island Hopping packages.

Earlier DOT secretary Joseph Ace Durano lauded the efforts made by entrepreneurs, especially in Cebu on immediately responding to the call of providing varied "adventure" related activities for tourists.

Durano said in the United States alone, adventure tourism is a US$450 million industry, the Philippines, which has ample of sites that can be developed for this type of activity can generate good tourism revenue, while providing local residents, especially rural people to earn livelihood from (adventure) tourism revenues.

Cebu, which has gained its prestige as the center for tourism in the Philippines, should immediately take advantage of this emerging tourism revenue stream for tourism, Durano said.

Aldeguer said that in Cebu, there is a big market for Island Hopping services that include other water sport activities.

"Adventure tourism is picking up. The Philippines is pushing adventure tourism. Gone were the days that hotels, and resorts were one of the main attractions. Now, guests would like to go out from their hotels/resorts and constantly trying to look for activities outside," Aldeguer said.

Aside from island hopping, the company also offers other water-sport activities such as snorkeling, dive safaris (Malapascua, Moalboal, Bohol and Dumaguete); fish feeding (Gilutungan, Nalusuan and Talima); Lechon Barbeque Picnic in several islets in Cebu like Pandanon, Gilutungan, Nalusuan and Camugi, Sunset Diners; Dolphin Watching (Sogod, Camotes); Kayaking (Mactan, Olango and Gilutungan).

The creation of the Talima Adventure Park will boost the choices of water-based adventure activities, which is what the tourists are looking for.—Ehda M. Dagooc