Erratic momentum takes Cebu tourism on roller-coaster ride

CEBU, Philippines – Although the robust tourism industry continued to feed a good profitability advantage to Cebu's hospitality sector, the year 2015 was however deemed as a "roller coaster" ride.

"Compared to the remarkable and consistent growth last year (in terms of bookings), players were thrilled by the erratic momentum in 2015 quarter by quarter," said Hotel, Resorts, and Restaurants Association of Cebu (HRRAC) president Julie Najar.

From the artificial "business high" experienced by the players in 2014, due to the disaster related (Yolanda typhoon, Bohol Earthquake) bookings, and events, the hospitality business has settled to its real level, which made 2015 a bit slower and unpredictable, said Najar.

While the APEC Summit in September this year boosted the hospitality business, Najar said, the overall hospitality business in Cebu slowed down from an exceptional growth it generated in 2014.

Still, business is good and encouraging in general for 2015, Najar said adding that the stakeholders efforts in positioning Cebu as the frontliner to accommodate local and international MICE events.

During the summer season this year, hotels and resorts in Cebu recorded a leaner performance, a bit strange from the usual high record  bookings from the domestic market during summer.

According to Najar, the K12 implementation may have affected the conservative leisure expenditure adapted by Filipinos in summer of this year, which means, that there were fewer families taking leisure outings or vacations within the country.

The second quarter of 2015 was the leanest month of the hospitality sector. "Nothing was happening". The holding of APEC in the third quarter however, was a plus point and the sector started to gain momentum again.

Likewise, Department of Tourism (DOT-7) regional director Rowena Montecillo described the year 2015 as good but "challenging" year, as the tourism sector faced "growth management" issues.

For the part of the DOT regional, Montecillo said her department could have done more, if only it was armed with enough personnel and additional budget allocation.

Montecillo said although the year 2015 was generally described as "challenging", its downside is geared towards correcting the dynamics of the entire industry, preparing towards a long term tourism gain for Cebu and the region.

This means that players, including tourism agencies like DOT and local government units' tourism support services, had to see the "deformities" of the industry, before it could take off to the higher level of growth.

She said the holding of APEC in Cebu in 2015 was a good "seed planting" for Cebu, to catch the full attention of the world MICE market.

A roller-coaster ride for tourism players in 2015 is believed to be an indication that it is on the "correction stage" anticipating a new growth stride starting 2016. (FREEMAN)