Resorts bounce back from rocket scare

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines  – Beach resort and hotel owners in Cagayan’s northeastern Santa Ana town are now hoping to recoup their losses from several days of inactivity due to the North Korean rocket scare.

According to the Santa Ana Hotels, Restaurants and Resorts Association, tourists

started returning after the failed North Korean rocket launch.

Nilo Aldeguer, deputy administrator of Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA), said that while the expected influx of tourists had been postponed by the rocket launch, there was no effect at all on the zone’s economic activity, including its tourism industry.

The expected tourist arrivals, especially during summer, was merely held in abeyance due to the rocket scare, he said.

Earlier, there had been reports that hotel and resort owners in the town lost P20,000 a day in expected profits. 

CEZA, which covers the entire town of Santa Ana and several island villages of Aparri town, has been a favorite destination of foreign tourists, particularly those who come for the online gaming operated within the zone.

About three hours northeast of Tuguegarao City, the town of Santa Ana, dubbed the “Boracay of the North,” is known for its pristine beaches and scenic coastlines, making it one of Cagayan Valley’s major tourism sites.

“We were not really affected by the panic brought about by the North Korean launch since our tourists merely re-scheduled their arrival until after the launch,” he said.

Also described as “Game Fishing Mecca of Northeast Asia,” Santa Ana, lying along the South China Sea–Pacific coast, also boasts of Palaui Island for its white sand beaches. It is also where one of the country’s remaining centuries-old lighthouses is located.

Had the launch been successful, the trajectory of the Unha rocket supposedly carrying the Kwangmyongsong-3 scientific satellite into orbit would have passed over Santa Ana and the rest of northeastern Luzon. 

Before the failed rocket launch, the government exerted efforts to warn residents of the dangers of being caught in the open of the rocket’s debris.

The government, through the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC), warned residents of communities in the eastern seaboard of the country against going out to sea from morning to noonfrom April 12-16 due to possible falling debris from the rocket. 

Fortunately, the rocket launch blew up shortly after liftoff.

Some militant groups, however, said the government exaggerated the possibility of getting hit by rocket debris.

Vince Casilihan of Karapatan Bicol chapter said the government preparations for the rocket launch was exaggerated and overkill that led to a mere waste of government money.

He said the money used in forming different response teams, particularly the suits bought for the recovery team, could have been used instead to help the poor.

Office of Civil Defense provincial director Raffy Alejandro said the preparation was just appropriate as a response to the anticipated threat because two provinces in the Bicol region were identified as among those areas that could be hit by falling debris.

“We respect their (militants) opinion on the issue. We are just doing what we believe is an appropriate response to our mandate of protecting the people from any form of threat or harm,” Alejandro said. – With Cet Dematera, Raymund Catindig