Year-long tourism activities: A must

The Grand Sinulog Celebration is still a week from now, yet, reportedly, hotel occupancy in Cebu City is in near full capacity. If it goes beyond Cebu City’s capacity, we can always expect a spatial spillover effect in the neighboring LGUs.  Certainly, they (other LGUs) will be more than willing to accommodate them. Undeniably, that’s great news.

But, wait, these arrivals might be here as early as today as Cebu City starts the festivities with the Sinulog sa Dakbayan.  Yes, absolutely, the deafening drums will start to roll and the energizing beats will begin to tickle everyone’s foot and buttock again. Truly, a lot more can be expected as the celebrations and competitions heighten towards next Sunday.

Then, as usual, the day after, the deafening drums are muted, the energizing beats dissipates and the equally revitalized crowd degenerates. That unequivocally means that the tourist-drawing week-long Sinulog 2026 revelries shall be finally over. Such is the reality of the Sinulog festivities as far as our tourism initiatives are concern. It gives us a week bounty.  Considering that a year has fifty-two weeks, it simply means, a week of abundance and fifty-one weeks of scarcity.

In a way, some successful countries, in terms of tourism, are holding festival-related activities too. However, for sustainability reasons, these countries have developed theme parks, places of interests and organized trade expos in between their festivals to have constant influx of opportunity-seeking travelers and leisure lovers alike.

Consequently, in 2025, according to Travel Daily Media and Asia News Network, in Southeast Asia, “Malaysia continues to lead in arrivals (Jan-Aug) with 28.24 million, followed by Thailand (21.88 million) and Vietnam (13.9 million), while Singapore, Indonesia, and the Philippines rounded out the top six, with the Philippines lagging behind its neighbors in recovery, facing challenges with lower-than-expected visitor numbers despite efforts.”

It is also noteworthy that Travel Daily News singled out factors that made these countries tourism relevant. In Vietnam, for instance, “tourists can enjoy cultural activities like exploring the old quarter of Hanoi, meeting local craftsmen, and touring historic sites like the Cu Chi tunnels.” Moreover, “Thailand provides diverse itineraries, combining sights like Bangkok’s vibrant city life, Chiang Mai’s mountains, and Kanchanaburi’s lush nature.” Remarkably, “these destinations are not just about sightseeing; they offer immersive cultural experiences, including the exploration of iconic movie sets and engagement in local arts and handicrafts.”

Malaysia, on the other hand, offers tourists (through its Visit Malaysia 2026 campaign) “a diverse experience, from vibrant cities and rich cultural heritage to stunning natural landscapes, focusing on culture, eco-tourism, food, and unique events, with initiatives to enhance digital experiences and international partnerships for a year-long celebration of its "Truly Asia" diversity. Apart from beaches, key attractions include the Petronas Towers, historic Penang/Melaka, tea plantations, theme parks, and world-renowned street food, alongside new focus areas like wellness and medical tourism.”

In comparison, though we have whale watching, etc. in Cebu, the country, as a whole, rely heavily on annual festivals to draw foreign tourists. Moreover, the country might take pride of its long stretches of beaches as if we are the only one that has it. While it’s noteworthy, we must not forget that Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand have longer, cleaner and more serene beaches too. Yet, despite their natural gifts, they’ve developed theme parks, amusement parks and other places of interest. Why can’t we do the same through private sector initiatives by giving them local tax breaks or incentives? By doing so, probably, we can have more theme parks like the Anjo World Theme Park in Minglanilla.

Are these enough? Not at all. We need to develop more tourist destinations in the country. The LGUs, on the other hand, must make sure that these places of interest are reachable by providing the necessary infrastructure. Then, jointly, all tourism players (LGUs included) must make a collective effort in promoting the country. The tour and travel operators, businessmen as they are, will certainly package tours if the products are saleable and reachable.

So that, through initiatives like these, tourism in the country will be a daily affair, not a yearly event.