Tourism windfall

Vigilance remains the order of the day as far as accommodating the expected surge of tourists into Cebu’s shores is concerned due to the impending six-month closure of Boracay island.

While security is paramount, local officials must also consider whether their towns and cities can handle the tourist surge, if it is substantial in the first place.

Cebu isn’t the only tourist destination that can play host to domestic and foreign tourists eager for some rest and relaxation during the two-month summer break.

Though Cebu is one of several top tourism alternatives in Central Visayas, it still competes with other provinces like Bohol which have lots of beaches, resorts and fewer of the urban distractions and problems offered and experienced by Cebu like the nightlife and the monster traffic congestion.

That said, Cebu’s designation as one of the safest cities in the world as stated by Numbeo, an online database that details the living conditions of cities worldwide, is a plus point and advantage that can be trumpeted by regional tourism officials scrambling to fill in the void left by Boracay’s closure.

There are factors to consider both in luring the tourist traffic and making them stay longer to experience what Cebu’s tourist spots have to offer other than security.

Ease of transportation and traffic comes to mind and while some taxi drivers and privately contracted transport operators have been coached to be helpful to guests, there are the usual bad eggs who seek to make money off our visitors especially hapless first time foreign visitors.

We need only be reminded of the death of seven Filipino-American doctors in a road crash in Alegria town, Cebu last January 20. By now tourist operators in Cebu know better and should remind travel agencies across the country to coordinate with them in contracting accredited drivers rather than hire colorum operators.

We also hope that the tourist operators can somehow explain the monster traffic congestion experienced in most parts of Metro Cebu, particularly in Cebu City and Mandaue City owing to ongoing projects to first time guests.

Again, in terms of facilities and tourist programs, Cebu can compete with the best that this country has to offer. Right now, the Department of Tourism’s (DOT) regional office has emphasized faith tourism as one of its selling points perhaps to draw in more balikbayans in hopes of reconnecting them to their birthplace.

And local governments should work with tourism stakeholders in actually implementing waste segregation and proper waste disposal programs—a basic service that was neglected and caused Boracay’s closure in the first place.

There are many other contingencies to plan and implement but all these will fail if not followed through with political will and faithful compliance by all stakeholders.