A TOURISM officer in the province has an idea on how to accommodate the influx of tourists with the six-month closure of Boracay Island – homestay.
Cebu Provincial Tourism Officer Joselito “Boboi” Costas recommended homestay for tourists since there might not be enough rooms available for them.
Homes with extra rooms can offer these to tourists and earn money on the side, he added.
Costas said that opening the homes to tourists also creates a multiplier effect and in the end, benefits the economy.
“If we involve the communities, like open their houses, it will be a source of income for them. It will trickle down the economic benefits,” said Costas.
“I think Cebu has always been ready. As a people, we are very warm,” he added.
In the province’s Tourism Code, Costas said that it is always a priority to provide livelihood to residents in the tourism areas.
While Cebu has tourist attractions such as white sand beaches and entertainment spots, there might not be enough rooms available for tourists who could not go to Boracay which would be closed to all tourism-related activities starting April 26 to pave the way for the rehabilitation of the island that had been plagued with environmental problems.
At present, the Hotels, Resorts, and Restaurants Association of Cebu (HRRAC) reported a 70 percent occupancy at their properties, leaving very little room to accommodate the outflow of tourists from Boracay.
But Costas said that if homestay programs would be offered especially at beach destinations, the Provincial Tourism Office (PTO) would look into the possibility of providing the owners of these houses training on housekeeping.
He urged the local government units to take the initiative and address the expected shortage, instead of waiting for an intervention from the national government.
Costas commended the move of the municipal government of Oslob town in southern Cebu to temporarily close down the sandbar and diving site on Sumilon Island for a clean up.
“Di na ta magpaabot ba nga the national government will be looking at Cebu unya kamoy sunod (We should not wait that the national government would look at Cebu and say ‘You’re next after Boracay),” he said, adding that other LGUs should follow the initiative taken by the Oslob municipal government.
Costas said that other LGUs, like the Moalboal municipal government, have started requesting the PTO to conduct a carrying capacity survey on their tourist sites to make sure that these would not be compromised with the increasing number of visitors.
A carrying capacity (Car-cap) survey is a study conducted to determine the maximum number of people that can harmoniously stay in a place.
Costas also urged the LGUs to put the Car-cap findings into legislation to put teeth on their campaign to preserve their natural resources.
For his part, Costas said he would recommend to the Provincial Board to pass legislation to impose standards on tour guides and operators.
He said local tour guides should have proper training since they are at the forefront and the impression they make on tourists create a lasting impact.
A 22-year-old female French tourist earlier complained to the police that her guide from Badian town groped her.
The tourist however, was no longer pursuing the case against the guide.
“If you are really a trained guide. [You know that] there are really protocols to follow. I think there really has to be a revisit on the training of local guides. I think ang uban gyod (other) guides are not trained,” Costas said.
Over the weekend, PTO has started its training program for local guides on Camotes Island.
Costas said this is just the first phase since they still have to cater to the training of other clusters of guides from other tourist destinations in the province.
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