Garcia eyes local market to revive Cebu’s tourism

CEBU, Philippines —  As tourism reopens in the Island of Cebu, Governor Gwendolyn Garcia clarifies that local tourists are the ones who will enjoy it for now since there are still no international flights allowed to enter the province.

“Ang atong tourism una in the Island of Cebu lang una ni within province, dili gikan sa Cebu City ha, kadtong gikan ra sa mga lungsod ug dakbayan sa probinsya sa sugbo, konektado na atong norte padulong sa south, puydi ra kaayo na di mo kinahanglan na muagi pa sa Cebu City ” Garcia said. 

 (Our tourism is within the Island of Cebu only, not from Cebu City, those from the towns and cities of the province of Cebu; our north is already connected to the south, so you don’t have to pass through Cebu City anymore)

As border control checkpoints remain in Cebu City, Garcia advised local tourists from the northern Cebu who wants to go to south and vice versa, they can use the Antonio De Pio National Highway that starts in San Remigio. The said highway is connected to the south of Cebu passing Tabuelan, Tuburan, Asturias, Balamban, Toledo City, Pinamungajan, Aloguinsan, Barili and going to the rest of the municipalities in south Cebu without entering roads in Cebu City.

“Unya nindot kaayo ang dan, lapad, sementado tanan,” Garcia added.

The governor views tourism as a key economic driver of the Province of Cebu.

In 2019, the Department of Tourism (DOT) named Cebu as the second most preferred destination in the country by foreign visitors. Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA) recorded a total of 3.9 million foreign arrivals for the first 11 months of 2019.

Despite of limited visitors, Garcia asks for the support of the 3.2 million Cebuanos in the Island upon the reopening of tourism related activities.

 “Three-point-two (3.2) million ta, we have our own market, sa isla palang sa Cebu,” Garcia said.

Since the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID) already allowed the inter-island travel with the same risk classification, Garcia plans to meet with the other governors in Central Visayas to tackle about inter-island travel to slowly revive the tourism in their respective provinces.  FPL (FREEMAN)