Cebu travel operators brace for Chinese tourist influx

CEBU, Philippines - Travel operators in Cebu are expecting an influx of Chinese tourist arrivals following the strengthened relationship between China and the Philippines.

"Cebu is already prepared for the influx of Chinese tourists, said Cebu Association of Tour Operators (Cato) president Edilberto Mendoza.

According to Mendoza, Cebu and the Philippines in general have been handling quite a number of Chinese tourists already even before Pres. Duterte visited China.

However, compared to Japanese, Chinese tourists do not spend much.

"On the average, probably they spend around P1000 per day as most of them are getting packaged tours," said Mendoza, owner of Abba Travel and Pilgrimage Services Inc.,

The Department of Tourism (DOT) expressed confidence it can achieve the six million international tourist arrivals target this year with the expected influx of Chinese and Japanese tourists.

China is the third largest source market of Philippine tourism, with a total inbound traffic of 484,567 as of August this year.

Cebu is slowly gaining interest from Chinese divers from China and Hong Kong, with its attractive and reasonably priced diving locations within the province.

Chinese arrivals in Central Visayas grew by 89.49 percent from January to July this year. The region registered 134,264 Chinese guests during the period compared to the 70,856 arrivals last year.

Likewise, Network of Independent Travel Agents (NITAS-Cebu) president Ricky Tio, who also owns a 20-year-old travel agency--Cebu Holiday Tours and Travel, also noted improvement of interest to Cebu.

Both Mendoza and Tio also felt the need to train more Chinese speaking tour guides to be able to cater to the growing demand.  (FREEMAN)