Ilocos gov keen to revive sisterhood pact with Cebu Imee Marcos sees mutual benefits for tourism growth

Ilocos Norte — Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee Marcos is interested in reviving sisterhood ties between Cebu and Ilocos Norte, saying both provinces complement as tourism destinations.

Cebu and Ilocos Norte signed a Sisterhood Agreement in 2011 during the previous term of governor Gwendolyn Garcia, a political ally.

Marcos last Sunday said there have not been many projects yet out of that agreement.

“I think Cebu and Ilocos Norte are a perfect fit to complement each other. Cebu is overbooked.

Here (Ilocos Norte) we are underbooked. We hope that soon the airline companies will open direct flights between the two provinces,” said Marcos.

Several media outlets were in Ilocos Norte over the weekend for a familarization tour sponsored by Cebu Pacific, which has direct flights from Manila to Laoag.

Marcos recalled that in 2011, there were discussions with businessmen through the chambers of commerce and tourism stakeholders of both provinces.

MANGOES

“Back then, we were supplying mangoes to Cebu because we have a lot of supplies here (Ilocos Norte) and Cebu’s supply was affected by some disease while our trees here were not affected,” she said.

She added that travel agents from both provinces had also met to discuss how they can help each other.

“Maybe with a direct flight soon, we can come up with a package that will feature both Cebu and Ilocos Norte,” she said.

Marcos said she discussed her interest to revisit the sisterhood agreement with Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide when they met at a function. She couldn’t recall the particular event off hand.

She said Davide was open to her proposal then but no discussions followed.

OFWS

Ilocos Norte has long relied on remittances of overseas workers as many Ilocanos have relatives migrating or working abroad.

“Ilocanos were known to be the first OFWs and now 90 percent of the 300,000 Filipinos in Hawaii are Ilocanos,” said Marcos.

Ilocos Norte is promoting its heritage, culture and arts with the presence of museums, old churches and shrines.

The windmills of Bangi, white sand beaches and sand dunes in Paoay also offer unique nature landscapes and sports tourism with the soon to be realizied wakeboarding at the Paoay Lake.

“Cebu also has these products and we’d like to learn from their best practices. In tourism, you have to aim for repeat customers. That is why we are constantly developing more products here,” she said.

In 2012, when Himala sa Buhangin was launched as an activity for the Holy Week, they were surprised to be visited by 600,000 tourists for the whole year.

“It was also partly because of the many movies shot here like Temptation Island and Panday and many other movies.”

Marcos said they were scrambling then for accommodations for all the tourists which she considered as a “happy problem.”

Today, Ilocos Norte has about a million tourists every year.