Having fun at Alegre

“Happiness and contentment.” This is what the owners of Alegre Beach Resort in Cebu want their guests to experience.

Situated in the charming town of Sogod, about one and a half hour drive from the Mactan International Airport, Alegre Beach Resort offers its guests a relaxing ambience and a true experience of nature, says general manager Fritz Kahler.

Alegre boasts a long stretch of natural white sand beach, a coconut grove and three private beach coves. It offers various activities to suit each guest’s mood or preference, Kahler says.

Alegre is a Spanish word for “happiness” or “contentment.” In Cebuano, it means “having fun.”

An internationally known five-star resort, Alegre has 38 cottages set in lush tropical grounds, many of them offering ocean views and private gardens.

The Filipino-Spanish-inspired cabañas are made of native thatched roofs, each with two spacious bedrooms, oversized bathrooms and private verandas. Mini-bars, cable television and in-house movies, hair dyers, personal safes, coffee and tea makers, airconditioning and many other facilities expected of a world-class resort are all included.

For the adventurous and romantics, Kahler says diving and island-hopping are the best activities. There are water sports like snorkeling, diving, jetskiing, windsurfing, and kayaking.

“We are very specific with our message: we provide elegant homes and a nice vacation,” says the 64-year-old Russian GM. “We can keep you busy with lots of water sports, scuba diving, island-hopping, huge beach, big pool, spa.”

Kahler says Alegre has had big improvements. For one, the resort’s restaurant is currently undergoing construction, while plans are afoot for expansion or additional accommodations next year, he adds.

“We are doing good in business,” Kahler says, adding they are targeting Korean honeymooners, Russian and Japanese tourists as well as balikbayans.

Alegre offers affordable room rates for as low as P6,800 or $220 per night, he says.

Meanwhile, Kahler says the Department of Tourism has been very supportive to them. In fact, he was one of the participants in recent DOT sales missions in Moscow and Korea.

“I’m very impressed at how they are doing it,” he says.

However, he says the tourism department needs an additional budget to catch up with neighboring countries like Thailand and Malaysia in terms of marketing and promotion.

He also urges the DOT to intensify its programs to attract more high-spending tourists rather than mainly focusing on increasing the number of foreign arrivals.

He says there are enough rooms in the country but there is a need to create more destinations.

“The DOT should be very selective on who to approach and how to approach (them),” he says.

“They should not (focus) too much on increasing the numbers… I personally look (forward to) more high-spenders than the pure number of tourists,” he says, adding that “quality is more important than the increase.”

The tourism department is targeting more than three million foreign tourists this year and about five million by 2010.