Local tourism booming in town of Anda, Bohol

CEBU, Philippines -  Apart from the world-renowned countryside tour of Bohol, the island-province capitalizes on its long line of white sand beaches, particularly in Anda town, that could further entice local and international tourists and boost its tourism industry.

Anda is one the new tourism products that the Department of Tourism (DOT) is strongly promoting at present. It was last Wednesday that the tourism department organized a tour for the Cebu media in some of the beach resorts in the municipality.

Anda is located on the eastern part of the island-province of Bohol. It has a population of 2,000 people.  To get there, tourists could travel via land transportation through public bus, van-for-hire or shuttle. It will take two hours to travel given the 99-kilometer distance of Anda from Tagbilaran City.

Municipal Mayor Metodio Amper said that his administration highly acknowledges the tourism sector as the major economic driver of his town.

He cited that the tourism industry significantly accounts for more than 50 percent of the entire economy of the municipality.

Aside from agriculture and fishing, he said that the tourism business could be considered as the primary means of livelihood for most of the people in Anda given the employment opportunities it generates.

Compared to the previous period, the municipality reported a growth rate of 52.50 percent in terms of the volume of tourists from June 2012 to the same month of this year.

Among the top ten markets for Anda include Germany, Netherlands, France, USA, Thailand, Korea, China, Canada, Belgium and Philippines.

Filipino tourists registered the highest increase of 112.19 percent from June last year to the same period of 2013.

Amper particularly took pride in sharing that the pristine, white sand beaches of the town could be comparable to those in Boracay and Palawan.

“Anda is the best,” he uttered, adding that local and foreign tourists should spend a minimum of two to three nights if they want to experience what Anda has to offer.

Anda also boasts of its caves, falls, dive spots and historical cities.

There are a total of 23 resorts and accommodation establishments in Anda. These are all members of the Anda Accommodation Association that is purposely organized to convene industry stakeholders of the town for the general welfare of the tourism sector.

Amper further encouraged members of the association to apply for the certification from DOT. Only two out of the 23 resorts in Anda are accredited by the tourism department. These are the Amun Ini Beach Resort and Spa and Anda White Beach Resort.

Meanwhile, he revealed that the local government is eyeing to promote Anda as an ideal hub for medical tourism and eco-tourism for both the domestic and international markets.

He said that they plan to develop the uptown area of Anda for mountain resorts to make the town a total package for the domestic and international tourist markets.

He expressed relief that Anda was spared from the worst damages of the series of calamities that recently hit the country.

Also, for the first time, the local government of Anda has participated in the 2013 Philippine Travel Mart last September in Manila attended by different tourism stakeholders across the country.

Amper believed that the tourism strength of Bohol was further fueled with the presence of the municipality of Anda in Travel Mart.

Other Bohol areas that were showcased were Abatan, Catigbian and Panglao. /JMD (FREEMAN)