Stakeholders want intensified promotion of leisure tourism

CEBU, Philippines - With Cebu and other parts of the Visayas catching the interest of leisure sports enthusiasts, tourism stakeholders now want the government to intensify the promotion of this particular product.

Jenny Franco,  former president of the Network of Independent Travel agencies (NITAs),  said that the market for leisure sports like inter-island biking and countryside or  mountain trekking have always been there, just like diving, but this particular segment had been overlooked in the past.

Franco believes that it’s best to hype this kind of product as it complements the  “It’s More Fun in the Philippines” slogan and will draw affluent and high-spender enthusiasts from  Europe  and  US  who  are  interested in exploring the Philippine countryside and bask in the tropical environment.

In an earlier interview, Alice Queblatin of the Cebu Association of Tour Operators (CATO) said that Cebu and other provinces in Visayas and Mindanao are now the target of big expedition groups specifically bikers.

With Cebu as their gateway, Queblatin said these foreign bikers travel to other  islands like Bohol, Negros, and Camiguin for  two weeks or more.

Queblatin revealed that there is an increasing number of Swiss, German and Italian bikers coming in to book for 10 to 12 days biking adventure using the Cebu-Bohol-Siquijor, and Negros Oriental routes. The Cebu-Bohol-Camiguin route is also gaining popularity among the foreign bikers.

 A  group  is usually composed of 10 to 15 people. These affluent tourists spend at least US$150 a day just  for accommodation and meals expenses.

Queblatin said that since these tourists are professionals, some of them are doctors, they also hold free medical missions on the side, in communities they discover along the way.

  “Some of them have adopted communities. I know one community in Badian that is now adopted by a group of European bikers,” said Queblatin.

Queblatin, who owns Southwinds Travel and Tours, one of the most established travel agencies in Cebu,  said that the Philippines’  natural beauty and rustic countryside are just few of the many factors that draw adventure sports enthusiasts tourism to the country, particularly in the southern part.

Leisure tourism is very popular in Asia and countries like Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia have been making money from this but it is only recently that this has gained ground in the Philippines. Given the right promotion, Franco and Queblatin believe that leisure tourism is a great vehicle to promote Philippine tourism and lure more tourists to come and explore the country. (FREEMAN)