Cebu braces for cancelled tours over US travel warning; none so far

SCREENGRAB FROM US EMBASSY IN THE PHILIPPINES’ WEBSITE

Tour operators in Cebu are bracing for the cancellation of reservations for tour packages in the southern part of the province following the travel advisory by the US Embassy in the Philippines informing its citizens to avoid going to this part of the island due to kidnapping threats from extremists.

But Edilberto Mendoza, president of the Cebu Association of Tour Operators (Cato), said member travel agencies have not reported any cancellations yet.

“We are really expecting the cancellation of booking reservations. The US Embassy will not (issue the travel advisory) if it doesn’t have basis. Fortunately, there are no cancellations at the moment,” he told Cebu Daily News in a phone interview on Friday.

The Cebu Provincial Tourism Office (PTO) also said there has been no reduction in tourists visiting southern Cebu towns.

Provincial Tourism Officer Joselito Costas said that last Thursday, after the issuance of travel advisory of the US Embassy in Manila, he personally went to the southern Cebu towns of Dalaguete, Santander and Sumilon Island in Oslob to check the area.

“We saw a number of tourist in the area. These are foreign tourists. I’m not sure if they are alarmed but the mere presence of them indicates that there’s no change of travel plans,” Costas said.

But Costas admitted the advisory will have a bad effect in the tourism industry of the province, since travel warnings about security threats would generally affect tourist arrivals.

“But we are trying to (secure the towns). In fact there were augmentation (of police force) from other (police agencies) like in Sibonga. I was told by the police chief in Oslob that there is also augmentation of (the Philippine) Navy on Sumilon Island. And the ports in Santander are now secured by Coast Guards,” Costas said.

He said that the concerned towns received an augmentation of police force from Regional Public Safety Battalion (RPSB) 7.

But having high police visibility in the area could also alarm tourist he said.

“In a way it could (have bad effect) because of course you are there in a holiday and you see these presence (of police). But I think, let’s see the other side of the coin. It makes travel into Cebu
safe,” he added.

Costas said that he was still confident that tourists will still come to Cebu.

“Cebu has been always peaceful, it has always been favorite destination of foreign tourists. Cebu has been known to be free from threats from these types of security issues,” Costas said.
Base on PTO’s data, Americans only come in fourth among foreign arrivals in Cebu. Koreans are still in the first place, followed by Japanese and Chinese nationals.

At present, Costas said that there are only few guests on Sumilon Island because Cebu usually experience bad weather during November.

The US Embassy in the Philippines, in a message published on its website on Thursday, alerted US citizens that terrorist groups were planning to “conduct kidnappings in areas frequented by foreigners on the southern portion of Cebu Island, specifically the areas around Dalaguete and Santander, to include Sumilon,” an island off the coast of Oslob.

US citizens were advised to avoid travel to these areas and reminded to review personal security plans, among others.

Mendoza said Caucasians, especially Americans, prefer traveling alone or with a companion, unlike Asians who like traveling in big groups.

“The danger lies there. Terrorists usually target smaller groups of two or three,” he said.

Mendoza urged US tourists to heed the Embassy’s warning and be “safe than sorry.”

Even so, he earlier said that US tourists do not account for much of the visitors in Cebu and Central Visayas.

He said that while the advisory was specifically for US citizens, it was not selective and should be a cause for concern among tourists of other nationalities as well.

“If the advisory came from Japan or Korea, then that would be very problematic,” said Mendoza.

Mendoza added that Cato’s close to 40 member agencies have coordinated with Philippine National Police (PNP) personnel in securing tour groups that avail their services.

On the average, he said, Cebu tour operators cater to groups of 15 to 20 tourists.

More than half of Cato’s members offer inbound tours while the rest provide outbound services.

Sumilon Bluewater Island Resort, in a statement, said that tourism activities in its immediate area remain normal at present.

“In fact, tourism traffic during the long (All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day) holiday weekend was high and tourist arrivals were not affected by the advisory as of this time,” the statement read.

The resort’s management said security personnel on the island are in a constant state of readiness to ensure the safety of guests.

The Philippine Coast Guard has been maintaining a detachment on the island since August this year to support the resort’s security detail.