TOURISM stakeholders in key areas of Cebu launched a sales campaign on Tuesday in a bid to attract more domestic travelers to their hotels and resorts.
Alfred M. Reyes, president of the Hotel Resort & Restaurants
Association of Cebu, said the “I love Cebu” tourism campaign, “encourages local travelers to help revive tourism exactly a year since the nationwide lockdown. [It] will provide an online selling platform for hotels, resorts and tour operators in Cebu to offer the best accommodation, transportation, and tour packages [for consumers].”
Select hotels and resorts in Cebu province as well as in the charter cities of Cebu, Lapu-Lapu, and Mandaue have slashed their room rates by as much as 70 percent. The organizers have also partnered with pioneering flag carrier Philippine Airlines, which is currently offering one-way airfares as low as P80 to any domestic destination, in celebration of its 80th anniversary.
Reyes said the sales promotion will last until April 30, 2021, with vouchers valid for one year.
Margie Munsayac, a convenor of the tourism campaign, said 64 establishments in Cebu and its charter cities are participating in the national sales effort—28 hotels, 17 resorts, and 19 tour operators. Inquiries and bookings may be done through traveloco.ph’s web site.
She said many of their resorts also offer “month-long stay rates” for those who want to relocate temporarily to Cebu while working from home. At Bluewater Resorts, where she is Vice President for Sales and Marketing, “We did introduce the Work+Play Program in Cebu at the start of the pandemic.”
Also, she said, “small [tour] groups” are allowed to book their travels to Cebu as long as they “adhere” to Inter-Agency Task Force on Managing Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID) guidelines.
Updated travel guidelines
Only recently, Cebu province announced that it would no longer require tourists to submit a negative RT-PCR test result, which was followed suit by Lapu-Lapu City and Mandaue City. Only Cebu City currently requires tourists to submit negative RT-PCR test results. “Mandaue and the province of Cebu requires only a medical certificate and confirmed accommodation booking,” said Munsayac.
According to the Department of Tourism-Region 7, there are 184 establishments that have been accredited in the province and its charter cities. Many of these are hotels, resorts, and mabuhay accommodations.
Cebu City started accepting domestic tourists last November 16 while Lapu-Lapu City opened to domestic tourism on October 21. Cebu province and Mandaue opened to domestic tourism on February 22.
According to Riza Marie Macaibay of DOT-Region 7, the long pandemic lockdown yielded some benefits to Cebu’s environs. “The closure of tourism activities for many months allowed not only the seas but as well as the natural attractions in the province to take a breather. For example, dolphins can be spotted frolicking off the waters of Moalboal early in the morning close from the shore,” she said.
Prior to the pandemic, Cebu City topped all Philippine destinations in terms of foreign tourist arrivals, with Boracay Island coming in a close second. In 2019, Cebu City welcomed 2.86 million foreign tourists, followed by Lapu-Lapu City (1.83 million); Mandaue (856,820); Santa Fe in Bantayan Island (168,519); and Cordova (165,291).
Mactan Cebu International Airport recorded 12.7 million domestic and international passengers in 2019, up 11 percent from 2018. The new passenger terminal was opened in July 2018.
Image credits: Alexey Kornylyev | Dreamstime.com
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