Decline in tourists won’t dampen Sinulog

CEBU CITY — Tourist attendance for this year’s Sinulog mardi gras may be noticeably less compared to last year’s but this will not dampen the spirit of the Jan. 21 festivities, regional tourism director Patria Aurora Roa said.

Roa said there were a lot of tourists last year because it was the Sinulog’s millennium celebration.

This year, the country is in a severe political and economic crisis, hence the diminished interest in the festivities, she said.

Sinulog Foundation executive director Juan Aquino said tourists are now hesitant to visit the country for security reasons.

Despite the lesser number of guests, Roa said this will not dampen the Sinulog festivities because there were still several balikbayans who have signified their intention to come home for the festivities.

Two chartered flights from the United States, with an estimated 120 passengers each, will be arriving on Jan. 18.

"There is even a group of about 70 Filipino-American doctors who will perform a medical mission in Dumaguete and purposedly scheduled their trip in time for the Sinulog so that they may stop over and witness the event," Roa said.

Roa said she is confident that Cebu will still attract a large number of visitors because big hotels and resorts in Cebu such as the Shangri-La’s Mactan Island Resort, Plantation Bay, Maribago Blue Water and Waterfront Hotel Lahug, are already fully booked. — Freeman News Service