Bantayan’s sunset adds more beauty
to the island during
the Holy Week
celebration.
Bantayan Island in northern Cebu has always been known for its white sand beaches, perfect for quick getaways with family and friends during the Holy Week.
A huge number of domestic and foreign tourists also flock to the island during the Holy Week observance, in time for the foot processions in Bantayan town on Maunday Thursday and Good Friday where life-sized images and icons are mounted on carnival-style carrozas (floats) depicting the tableaux of Christ’s Passion and the Stations of the Cross.
While this brand of tourism is something to be embraced and nurtured, stakeholders from the town of Bantayan believe there is something more they can offer to visitors.
Mae Elizabeth Ybañez, executive director of the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI), said they are now working on a tourism development plan to identify which else to showcase.
“Bantayan has so much more to offer that we haven’t showed to the public,” she said during a focus group discussion with tourism stakeholders from the town last Saturday in Cebu City.
The CCCI, which has a chapter on the three-town island (Bantayan, Sta. Fe and Madridejos), was asked by Bantayan Mayor Arthur “Art” Despi to come up with a plan.
Focus group discussions have been held since February this year, with stakeholders earlier identifying “Sunset Bay Tourism” and “Heritage Tourism” as potential offerings.
The sunset
Bantayan’s sunset, which is one of the best sunsets in Central Visayas, can become the town’s next attraction, noted Ybañez.
Ybañez said they are eyeing the coast only a few meters from the municipal hall as an area where activities can be set up initially, but will eventually expand as infrastructure and right of way issues are ironed out.
Sunset Bay Tourism would allow visitors to bask by the bay in peace, commune with nature, and watch the breathtaking sunset and seascape.
She said they are also eyeing to develop activities in the area where tourists can get firsthand experience of what life on the island is like through puso (hanging rice)-making, harvesting fish from nets, and making buwad (dried fish).
The area, she added, will also become a place where visitors can eat delicious, fresh, and safe seafood.
Heritage tours
Stakeholders also saw potential in Heritage Tourism in Bantayan town, since the municipality is home to one of the oldest churches in the Visayas and Mindanao.
The Parish of Sts. Peter and Paul, which stands on the town’s principal plaza, was founded by Augustinian missionaries on June 11, 1580.
According to several accounts, the original church was destroyed by Moro raids in 1628. Construction of the present church began in 1834 and was completed in 1863.
“Beyond Holy Week, we can do something more. Even during Holy Week, we can do even more,” said Ybañez.
Aside from the usual Holy Week tour packages, they can also offer homestay packages where visitors can witness the solemn procession; open select homes that own carrozas for extended viewing or pilgrimage; expand its museum; and create storylines for guided tours based on the town’s rich history, among others.
Lifesize images
depicting the passion of Christ are mounted in carrozas (floats) for the Holy Week procession that has become a tourist
attraction in the town of Bantayan on Bantayan Island.
The municipality of Bantayan, located 136 kilometers north of Cebu City, is bordered to the north by Madridejos and to the southeast by Santa Fe.
Tourism, fisheries, and poultry are the island’s three main economic drivers, with tourism being the island’s top contributor to the local economy.
However, many people only associate Bantayan with Holy Week as well as the beaches and island-hopping activities in Sta. Fe.
“Bantayan town has its own attractions, which have remained untapped today,” said Ybañez.
Alice Queblatin, president of the Cebu Association of Tour Operation Specialists (CATOS), said the number of tourists visiting the island will grow at least two times if activities other than frolicking on the beach and participating in processions are offered to them.
“When we sell Bantayan to tourists, we just talk about the beach. That’s not a problem because they really enjoy the water. But the memories they take home, the experiences they talk about is something they can enjoy anywhere else,” Queblatin told Cebu Daily News at the sideline of the discussion.
Sta. Fe, which accounts for all tourist arrivals on the island since the other two towns have no accommodation establishments, welcomed 43,478 domestic visitors and 13,978 foreign visitors from January to November 2016, according to data from the Department of Tourism in Central Visayas (DOT-7).
Sta. Fe was the top tourist destination among Cebu towns, even surpassing Oslob, which is known for whaleshark watching activities, at only more than 28,000 local and foreign tourists.
Queblatin said she was pleased that Bantayan is moving towards carving an identity for itself, which can entice tourists to stay longer.
“Before, they will just go to Bantayan for the beaches. It’s always compared to Boracay. But with more activities for them to do, this will translate to them staying longer. They will book packages for a minimum of three nights, four days because they have more things to do,” she said.
But for Bantayan to be ready for this development, issues on solid waste management, infrastructure, power, and water supply need to be addressed first.
Despi, for his part, said he took the cue from Oslob town, which rakes in millions of pesos in revenue daily from its whale watching activities.
He said he looked to tourism to stimulate the town’s economy, which mainly depends on fisheries, poultry, and agriculture.
The whole island of Bantayan was ravaged by Typhoon Yolanda in 2013, with more than 90 percent of businesses wiped out.
Despi, a first term mayor, is determined to create a community-based plan to lift Bantayan town out of poverty, which was ranked the ninth poorest local government unit in Central Visayas in 2016 by the Department of Social Welfare and Development.
The mayor estimated that even with just 1,000 tourists who each pay P5,000 for the new activities in Bantayan town, they can contribute P5 million to the local economy.
“We need to put together all our talents to make Bantayan a destination,” he said.