Triathletes prepare to ride the bike in the bike leg of last year’s Ironman competition in Cebu. This year at least 2,000 athletes are joining the race this weekend, which will be a hectic weekend for competitors, organizers and tourism players.
IT’S going to be a busy weekend not just for the athletes joining the Regent Aguila Ironman 70.3 Asia Pacific Championships but also for local tourism industry players.
In fact, as early as this week, all hotels and resorts in Mactan Island have been fully booked already.
Lapu-Lapu City Tourism Officer Hembler Mendoza said with hotels full in Mactan, some athletes and tourists had started going to nearby cities like Mandaue and Cebu.
“The vacant hotels now are those outside Lapu-Lapu City. Despite the changes in the route, there are still a lot of participants in this year’s Ironman,” he said.
At least 2,700 participants from 52 different countries, both local and foreign, are expected in this year’s Regent Aguila Ironman 70.3.
In previous years, Mendoza said the average number of participants were only between 2,200 to 2,300.
And for each participant, he said they would bring at least two or three other people including family members or friends to enjoy a short weekend vacation.
“Their average stay is four days and three nights. They check in on Friday and check out on Monday,” Mendoza said.
Some athletes and their entourage have also started arriving last week and earlier this week in order to cope with the jetlag as well as to inspect and examine the race route.
But bulk of the arrivals are expected today (Thursday).
The Ironman events are only on Saturday and Sunday August 4 and 5.
During their stay, the athletes’ families and friends are expected to enjoy Mactan’s beaches, local food as well as other nearby tourist attractions.
According to Mendoza, the Lapu-Lapu City government had also prepared a program and activities along the race route in order to entertain the spectators who would be witnessing the race.
The city government has also partnered with the Department of Tourism (DOT) in preparing welcome ceremonies for the athletes arriving on August 2 and 3.