Despite trip cancellations; hotels, resorts occupancy rate surpass targets during Sinulog

CEBU, Philippines - Despite the cancellation of flights and sea-based transportations due to unfavorable weather during the Sinulog weekend, Cebu’s hotel and resort occupancy rate managed to surpass targets.

Department of Tourism regional director Rowena Montecillo announced yesterday that based on the report furnished by the accommodation establishments, Cebu exceeded the estimated Sinulog-related booking arrivals of 85,315 to 108,373.

This means that despite the divided attention of the people due to the arrival of Pope Francis in the country, Sinulog 2015 still brought good business to the accommodation sector, including the resorts in Mactan, said Montecillo in an interview yesterday.

Montecillo said the Papal visit and the unpredictable weather were one of the concerns during the pre-Sinulog predictions, but she said the 8,235 total room inventories in Cebu City posted an average of 97 percent occupancy rate.

Montecillo said that because the weeklong Sinulog celebration also coincided with the long-weekend declared in National Capital Region, some opted to take their trip to Cebu earlier before the flights and boat schedules were cancelled.

Reportedly, the 2015 Sinulog reached some 2.5 million people. This year's crowd was lower compared to the previous year’s estimate of 3.2 million people.

In fact, the "Life Dance" party , which is one of the DOT sponsored events in Sinulog, drew 17 thousand people, Montecillo said.

Hotel, Resorts, and Restaurant Association of Cebu president Julie Najar, who is also the general manager of Marco Polo Plaza Cebu, confirmed Montecillo's report, saying hotel bookings were not affected by the interference.

In general, Najar said this year's Sinulog week was good for Cebu, with more foreigner visitors, not only the Balikbayan, Koreans, but now Sinulog has already gained ground from Japanese and European travelers.

Parklane International Hotel Cebu general manager Cenelyn Manguilimotan said that although there were a number of bookings that were not used due to bad weather, walk-in transactions saved the "no-show" bookings. (FREEMAN)