5M tourists in 5 years

 CEBU, Philippines - Aiming to improve the tourism performance of Cebu as an engine of socio-economic growth in the Philippines, the Cebu Coalition of Fourteen Business Chambers and Civil Service Organizations launched the Cebu Strategic Tourism Development Plan yesterday at the Marco Polo Plaza Hotel with the commitment of support from local government units, agencies, industry players, and the academe .

Cherrylyn Rodolfo, vice president of Research Educational and Institutional Development Foundation, said there is a need to tailor the National Tourism Development Plan to suit local needs.

“Tourism is a game changer for the Philippines especially during this Aquino administration. It is now as to how to localize the national plan and make Cebu as a major tourist destination,” she said.

Cebu Business Club Executive Director Perry Fajardo, on the other hand, said that Cebu should not only be a destination in the Philippines but also in Asia.

He cited that the Philippine foreign tourist arrivals grew 5.1 percent annually from 1995 to 2011, but it took 15 years – from 1996 to 2010 – for the number to double.

The total number of foreign and domestic tourist arrivals in Cebu has reportedly contributed to the increase from 1,247,487 in 2006 to 1,922,238 in 2011.

Despite this, however, Cebu recorded fewer tourist arrivals compared to other destinations like Phuket in Thailand and Bali in Indonesia. Cebu recorded 833,441 foreign tourist arrivals in 2010 while Phuket recorded 1,692,598 and Bali recorded 2,546,023 of the same year.

“We are just one-third of Bali and half of Phuket. We are leftbehind. In 1990s, Cebu was number one in tourism in the Southeast Asia. If we do not move forward, we will find ourselves overtaken by our neighbors,” he continued.

Cebu has identified its strengths - historical heritage, natural attraction, urban amenities, international access and recognition, but Fajardo said it also needs to work on its weaknesses, which include below par infrastructure, low volume on room accommodations and conference areas, absence of “unique culture” and unattractive physical environment.

The Cebu Tourism Roadmap is aimed at addressing these weaknesses, he said, as it was drafted by taking into consideration its sustainability, integration of existing plans and studies and achievable recommendations from stakeholders.

The roadmap aims to bring in five million tourists in five years with a 20-percent annual growth rate as an “optimistic target” and four million tourists with a 15-percent annual growth rate as “most viable objective.”

Its key development strategies include product development, infrastructure development, marketing and promotion, outreach/public involvement strategies and organization development.

Major business groups, including the Cebu Business Club, Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry, American Chamber of Commerce and Industry, government agencies such as the Department of Tourism, Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Department of Interior and Local Government and National Economic Development Authority,  tourism stakeholders, local chief executives, legislators, industry players, and the academe have pledged to support the roadmap.  (FREEMAN)