The Escuela Catolica building in Boljoon town is one of the heritage destinations in this southern town of Cebu. (CDN FILE)
More than a hundred local and foreign tourists will experience not only southern Cebu heritage but also community-based tourism in the first leg of this year’s Suroy-Suroy Sugbo this month.
Cebu provincial tourism officer Boboi Costas said that the theme for the latest Suroy-Suroy Sugbo tour is “Cebu Southern Heritage” and will feature stopovers in at least 10 towns from the south.
With the theme, Costas said that they will be “showcasing Spanish colonial structures – churches, watchtowers, public buildings, as well as houses” during the trip, which had been provincial government’s way of treating local and foreign tourists to see the the different scenic spots in the province while promoting ecotourism.
However, Costas said that they will also try to make the trip more community-based to promote their long-term sustainability.
“The Suroy-Suroy this year, we tried to make it, we’re attempting to make it more community-based because we really want to evolve the Suroy-Suroy into something that is sustainable and community-based,” he said. “Of course, we cannot deny the fact that Suroy-Suroy is really a marketing event to promote the less-traveled destinations in Cebu, but we also want to make it more sustainable in the coming years,” he said.
Costas said that among the steps that they have taken to make the trip more community-based is to tap the women weavers of Argao to make the handcrafted bags that will be used as giveaways for the trip as well as the community-based orchestra of Boljoon to provide entertainment.
The 3-day, 2-night trip will include stopovers in Carcar City and in the municipalities of Argao and Boljoon on the first day; stopovers in Santander, Samboan, Ginatilan, Alegria, and an overnight stay either in the town of Badian or Moalboal on the second day; and stopovers in Ronda and Barili on the third day before heading back to Carcar City for a pasalubong spree.
According to Costas, the package rates for the tour will depend on the accommodation and sharing arrangements preferred by the participants, ranging from P7,950 to P12,650 per head.
At present, Costas said that around 10 pairs or 20 participants have already reserved a slot in the trip, which has a maximum expected participants of around a hundred.
To promote this year’s trip, Costas said that a Suroy-Suroy Sugbo booth would be set up at SM City Cebu starting on Wednesday, January 4 until January 14, where interested participants could book their reservations.