Cebu hotel group to hold month-long summer travel sale
MANILA, Philippines — For the second time this year, a hotel group in Cebu is bringing back its travel sale to revive the tourism industry of the province.
Hotel Resort and Restaurant Association of Cebu is set to hold the online travel sale dubbed “I Love Cebu Summer Sale” from April 1 to 30. This is in partnership with the Department of Tourism.
This year, the association expanded the travel sale to include food and beverage. Nearly 50 establishments are participating in the online travel fair.
In 2021, they only offered deals for accommodation wherein they manage to sell around P2 million worth of deals.
Alfred Reyes, HRAAC president, said the revenue from last year’s sale is good considering Cebu is not yet open at that time due to COVID-19 travel restrictions.
On Wednesday, Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama said the city is ready to welcome tourists.
Cebu City Councilor Jocelyn Pesquera, who is also the chair of Cebu City Tourism Commission, said both local and foreign tourists can enjoy various tourism activities including eco, culinary, heritage and pilgrimage tours as well as bird watching when they visit the province.
Rama and Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat welcomed the timing of the travel sale as it coincided with the summer season of the reopening of borders to international tourists.
“We have high hopes that this year’s I love Cebu campaign will help Cebu’s tourism industry which has been greatly affected not just by the COVID-19 pandemic but also Typhoon Odette which devastated the country’s central and southern regions at the end 2021,” Puyat said in her speech.
“We expect many foreign guests especially since our international borders have finally opened to visa-free countries last February 10 and April 1 to all countries,” she added.
HRAAC’s Reyes shared the same sentiments and said that because of the eased travel restrictions they are projecting more travel sales.
“We expect more than double,” Reyes said.
Pesquera is likewise hopeful that the travel sale will boost the pandemic and Odette-hit tourism.
"I commend the Hotel, Resort and Restaurant Association of Cebu, Inc. (HRRACI) and all the participating hotels and resorts for this initiative. This event, the I LOVE CEBU summer online sale is a proof that the tourism sector is back and we are ready to accept our local and foreign tourists," Pesquera said.
Meanwhile, DOT’s marketing arm, Tourism Promotions Board Chief Operating Officer Maria Anthonette Velasco-Allones expressed wavering commitment to support the hotel group’s initiative.
She called on the participating establishments to offer amenities and services similar to what they have advertised, highlighting the importance of the authenticity of tourism products offered.
The public can access the travel deals and tourism offerings of up to 70% off on rooms, hotels/resorts, and restaurants via this one-stop-shop link https://traveloco.ph/ilovecebu. Vouchers purchased from this travel sale are valid until the end of the year.
Reyes said that some accommodation establishments are also offering COVID-19 test services for seamless travels of foreign visitors.
Last March 25, the DOT announced that the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) approved the entry of fully vaccinated foreign nationals without the need for an Entry Exemption Document.
Under Resolution No. 165, foreign tourists must only comply with applicable visa and immigration laws, rules, and regulations.
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