DOT Caraga mulls Cebu partnership

CEBU, Philippines —  Taking advantage of Cebu’s increasing international direct flights, the Department of Tourism (DOT) office of Caraga region plans to partner with Cebu tourism stakeholders to jointly promote Cebu and Siargao Island.

“We will organize a meeting with Cebu travel operations soon in coordination with DOT-7 and undersecretary Shalimar Tamano,” said DOT-Caraga regional director Ivonnie Beltran- Dumadag.

According to Dumadag, a close partnership with Cebu tourism players would help the recovery efforts of Siargao Island, whose vibrant tourism-led economy was badly hit by typhoon Odette coupled with the negative effects brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Aside from targeting foreign travelers to visit the surfing capital of the Philippines using the Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA) as a hub,

Dumadag said Siargao is also seeing rising number of Cebuano visitors exploring the Island.

Already, the DOT-Caraga started its efforts to connect with Cebu tourism stakeholders through its first ever participation to the recently held International Travel Fair (ITF 2023) at the Ayala Cebu Cebu on March 24-26, 2023.

“Our participation in the International Travel Fair in Cebu recently was already a start. That was the first time we joined. Will meet up with DOT-7 soon so we can discuss ways forward,” Dumadag said.

Regular flights from Cebu, Manila, and Davao have since resumed after the challenging years of the coronavirus pandemic and typhoon Odette in 2021.

Foreign tourists are back and are spending led by Americans, Portuguese, Israelis, and tourists from United Kingdom.

The municipality of General Luna, where the surfing capital called Cloud 9 is located observed that as of first week of April domestic tourists led the arrival figures on the Island.

For surfing activities bookings, the town recorded a total of 8,599 bookings versus 1,464 bookings made by foreign tourists.

Island hopping activities also was dominated by local tourists with 8,228 bookings and 775 foreign visitors explored the iconic islands of Siargao.

After suffering from the impact of the pandemic and the destructive typhoon, the teardrop-shaped island Siargao is “rising back strong,” Dumadag said, thanking the collective support of local stakeholders.

Dumadag expressed confidence that a strong tandem with Cebu stakeholders Siargao will be able to see economic boost and regain its position in the local and global tourism map.

Currently, Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific operate direct Cebu-Siargao flights twice and thrice daily, respectively.

Cebu is a favored transit airport for those traveling to other island destinations in Visayas and Mindanao like Siargao, Dumadag added.

To date, Siargao’s recovery of the accommodation facilities is also on track, now hitting about 85 percent of their overall post-disaster resumption efforts.