HIS PET. A fisherman feeds a whale shark with krill in Oslob town, south Cebu as he waits for the arrival of tourists. Fishermen engaged in this exciting tourism activity have assigned the gentle giants their own names and treat them like pets.
CDN file photo
THE implementation of the new rules crafted for ‘sustainable’ tourism activities in Oslob town, south Cebu, is faced with yet another setback.
Vice Governor Agnes Magpale, the Provincial Board’s Chair of the Committee on Tourism and International Affairs, said on Tuesday that they decided to defer the implementation of the new guidelines in Oslob’s whale watching activities after local tour operators complained that the new rules are “more favorable for tour operators that are based in the city.”
Last October, tourism operators, the provincial government and the local government of Oslob met in multiple occasions to discuss the possible amendments in the guidelines in order to prevent having the same fate with Boracay.
One regulation that the government officials and the tourism stakeholders arrived at is the reduction of the number of visitors that will be accommodated in the whale-watching sites in Barangay Tan-awan from over 1,000 heads to at most 800 per day.
The figure was based on the study conducted by the Provincial Tourism Office that determined the carrying capacity of the place.
An online reservation system was initially seen as a means to control the number of visitors that will be accommodated in the site.
“Amo gyod gipa-stop una ang pag-implement kay naay bag-o nga nireklamo which is for me valid baya. Ang ilang reklamo murag ni-favor kaayo sa city tour guides aning bag-ong set up,” Magpale told reporters on Tuesday.
She said that it was Oslob Mayor Jose Tumulak who brought up the matter to Governor Hilario Davide III upon hearing the local tour operators’ sentiments.
“Dili man sad ta gusto nga madehado atong locals so I said we have to solve this first before ta mag-implement. Because we don’t want to implement a defective system nga naay nadehado,” Magpale said.