Need for "central" tourist spot seen

Despite the influx of tourists coming to Cebu, there is a still need to identify and develop a specific tourist site where foreign visitors can shop and dine in style for it to be comparable with popular international tourist destinations like Singapore, Thailand and Hong Kong, said a tourism executive.

Robert Lim Joseph, member of the National Association of Independent Travel Agencies, recently said Cebu has a lot to offer for foreign tourists but for it to be effectively marketed, it should have a particular tourist area for shopping and dining.

"We should not try to package Cebu as a foreign tourist destination where everything is cheap, as Cebu can really compete with the likes of Sentosa of Singapore, Ocean Park of Hong Kong and Phuket, Thailand," he added.

While Cebu has an edge due to its international airport serving direct international flights, Joseph said there is need for it to make foreign tourists to spend more, adding that luring these tourists would mean additional income because they have the capacity to spend in dollars.

Cebu Vice-Gov. Gregorio Sanchez agreed with the need to come up with an exact spot not only for a well-known commercial tourist site but likewise, for an investment area as well. The vice-governor said tourism is a major thrust under the administration of Gov. Gwen Garcia as one major infrastructure project, which is the transaxial highway, will also be a main tourism attraction.

Sanchez declared the transaxial highway that is expected to cost between P3 billion to P4 billion will help spur economic development faster in the countryside as the major thoroughfare connects from the southern tip to the northernmost part of Cebu.

Apart from this, the transaxial highway -also dubbed as the unity highway- will serve as an added tourist attraction as the highway cuts across the top of Cebu's mountains from end to end where one can see the neighboring provinces of Bohol and Negros Oriental, according to Sanchez.

The construction of the highway is set to start sometime next year as two Malaysian firms are interested in building the major road project.

Sanchez further said the Provincial Government has 3,000 hectares of land at the Mactan Aquabell that needs to be developed for possible sites as investment and tourist areas.

As the Cebu Provincial Government plans to organize the Asean Trade and Exposition by first semester of next year at the still ongoing construction of the Cebu International Convention Center, Sanchez said they will also take the opportunity to sell Cebu as an investment haven to representatives of participating Asean nations.

Joseph said that with Cebu as a favored tourism destination by foreign visitors with almost 1.5 million tourists a year, only about 360,000 of the total figure are actual foreign tourists while slightly over 1 million are domestic tourists.

The Department of Tourism is targeting 3.5 million foreign tourists to visit the country per annum.

Cebu is under the Central Philippines Super Region where its priority focus will be on strengthening tourism development. - Wenna A. Berondo/BRP