Capitol: Airport will boost Camotes tourism

CEBU, Philippines - The Tourism Office of the Cebu Provincial Capitol believes that the construction of an airport in Camotes Island will boost tourism.

Grace Paulino, the provincial tourism officer, said the airport will hasten the transport of tourists from all over the country by lesser time.

For the time being, it takes several hours to get to Camotes Island, which is reached by boat from Danao City or other areas where there are boat services. The boat ride would take at least an hour.

The province is helping the island promote its tourism attractions — the Boracay-like beaches in San Francisco, the Lake Danao, and dive spots, among others — through its “Suroy Suroy Sugbo” program. The program brings in guests, locals and foreigners, to the island for a guided tour.

Earlier  GovernorHilario Davide III said Camotes has become a tourism destination in the north and they are pushing it by strengthening the island’s infrastructure projects.

A small airport exists in the island, constructed during the time of Governor Emilio Osmeña in the ‘90s, but the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines had stopped operating it.

Davide had earlier asked Nigel Villarete, general manager of the Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority, to make a feasibility study if the airport, including the one in Santa Fe in Bantayan Island, is worth developing and eventually operate again. — (FREEMAN)