CCCI, City government to pursue loop tours plan

CEBU, Philippines - The Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI), in partnership with the Cebu City government, is going to push through with the proposed tourism support facility project, the Hop-On/Hop-off Bus Tours.

CCCI chairman for external affairs Nestor Archival said that a business plan for this project is now being crafted, in order to see the feasibility of providing such service to growing tourists in Cebu.

Archival, who is also one of the consultants to the Cebu City government, said that CCCI will give technical expertise in terms of business potential, feasibility, and management approach, but the Cebu City government will be the one to implement this.

This kind of facility is also known as Loop Tours, to provide a quick and convenient way to get an overview of the city.

“We are excited about this project because it will be the first of its kind in the country. Now, tourists and even locals who wish to take affordable trips to popular tourism attractions in Cebu can simple ride on the bus at specified drop points within Cebu City,” said Milagros Espina Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) tourism committee chairperson told a press briefing.

According to Espina, this is going to re-invent Cebu’s tourism industry, as it is maturing as a destination.

Tours are frequently used by visitors on their first day or two in a new city as it quickly gives them an overview of how the area is laid out, while a tour guide provides a history and interesting facts of the city.

After seeing most of the major sites via the hop-on/hop-off bus, they can then determine an itinerary for the rest of their stay, deciding which area of the city they want to visit again on their own and which sites they would like to see in more details.

HopOn/HopOff tours are also used by visitors who only have a very short amount of time in an area. The Loop Tour enables them to cover a lot of ground in a short period of time and experience most of the major attractions of a city.

According to Archival a dry-run with the different stakeholders in the tourism industry had already been conducted, so far, the feedback was good. But, the project still has to get the facilities’ needed such as coaster-type aircon buses, among others.

During the dry-run held last year, stakeholders visited major attraction in the City including the Cebu City Hall, Parian, Casa Gorordo, Colon Street, Jones Avenue (Osmeña Blvd.), Fuente Osmeña, the Capitol, Magellan's Cross, Taoist Temple, JY Square, IT Park, Ayala Center Cebu, SM City Cebu, Museo Sugbo and Fort San Pedro.

“This kind of project is feasible in Cebu because the City alone is packed with attractions. We are determined to introduce this new concept and work on means to be able to sustain it, stakeholders noted.

Earlier, Cebu City Councilor Margot Osmeña, who is also the head of the Cebu City tourism council welcomed the idea, saying CCCI and partnership with the National Association of Tour Operators (Naitas) and other tourism groups.

“I am personally a big fan of these loop tours especially when I travel abroad and I am optimistic something like this will be possible for Cebu City,”said Osmeña

Osmeña is scheduled to meet the proponents of the project in a consultative meeting within this week to discuss on the details and how this can be made sustainable.  (FREEMAN)