La Vida Local opens; highlights sustainable tourism, going local

Local products are on display at the La Vida Local event at the SM North Wing Atrium.
CDN PHOTO/GERARD VINCENT FRANCISCO

PRACTICE sustainable tourism and go local!

This is the call of Cebu Provincial Tourism Officer Joselito “Boboi” Costas as he encouraged those involved in the tourism industry to practice sustainable tourism and the public to patronize local products and places.

Costas made the call during the opening of the 3-day tourism event called La Vida Local, which aims to achieve these two goals, by bringing several municipal attractions and products to the SM North Wing Atrium.

Products and services from different municipalities and provinces in Cebu as well as different tourist attractions such as eco farms, resorts and canyoneering sites are highlighted in the event.

“Tourism should benefit the locals. They should travel, they should eat local, they should grow local, and they should buy local,” said Costas.

Costas also admitted that sustainable tourism should be Cebu’s direction to success, especially knowing the size and number of the island and the scarcity of the products found in the island.

“It should be Cebu’s direction when you talk about tourism. We have very limited resources, and there is no way to go but sustainable,” he said.

On Monday, the first day of the event, featured the Cebu Journeys, an exhibit of the products and services of 27 towns in Cebu where they showcased tourism attractions and products such as organic items, eco parks, and resorts.

Cliffhouses in Aloguinsan, the Fantasy Lodge in Samboan, and Maribago Bluewater in Mactan Island were among those local eco-tourism destinations cited.

The Coffee of Tuburan, Biscuits of Lilo-an and the Haplon of Argao, also brought a lot of attention during the event.

Aside from the Cebu Journeys, there was also the Sugbuanong Ani, where several chefs from hotels in Cebu brought in their version of classic local dishes using local products and ingredients.

These included Chef June Fernandez from the Parklane Hotel, Chefs Cindy Orquillas and Gerry Cero from Golden Prince and Chefs Coke Semblante and Chef Deofrey Vistal from Radisson Blu.

Fernandez, whose local dishes were inspired by the ingredients from the municipality of Aloguinsan, like the chicken and the pancit batil.

He also encouraged the public to patronize the local cuisine to help preserve our culture.

“People come here to Cebu to experience what is local, not what is international,” said Fernandez.

The Cebu Journeys exhibit will be until Oct. 10 at the SM North Wing Atrium. A tourism summit with at least 100 tourism stakeholders will also be held on Wednesday (Oct. 10).