Suroy Suroy Sugbo to go national: DOT execs join, study Cebu’s tourism caravan  

Dancers in white and gold dresses greet visitors of the Suroy Suroy Sugbo Camotes leg when they arrive in one of the island’s tourist destinations — Lake Danao. | Wenilyn Sabalo Sabalo

CAMOTES ISLAND, Philippines — Regional tourism directors from all over the country have participated in the Camotes Island leg of Cebu’s tourism caravan called “Suroy Suroy sa Enchanting Camotes” this weekend, as a preparation for the national rollout of this tourism initiative.

Jovi Ganingan, Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) Tourism director, said the Suroy Suroy Sugbo was a “very good” experience showcasing Cebuano hospitality.

“It’s really something new for us also in the Cordillera…Napakita natin dito na we should be proud of who we are as Filipinos, at ngayon, pagbalik naman natin sa Cordilleras, napakayaman din naman ng Cordilleras at ito din ang ating ipapakita sa mga bisita natin, arts, culture, and napakayaman na tradition, and mga less known areas natin,” Ganingan said.

(It’s really something new for us also in Cordillera…We can show here that we should be proud of who we are as Filipinos. And now, when we return to the Cordilleras, Cordilleras is also very rich and this is what we can show to our visitors, arts, culture and our rich traditions, and our less known areas.)

READ: IN PHOTOS: Suroy Suroy sa ‘Enchanting Camotes’

Likewise, Nelia “King” Arina, the Department of Tourism director of Region 12, SOCCSKSARGEN, said: “Daghang ka’g makat-unan…from the point of view of an organizer, mao na ang akong gitutukan og observe…gikan sa gagmayng detalye, unsaon pag arrange sa mga bus, sa transport, sa boat, han-ay kaayo.”

(You can learn a lot of things…from the point of view of an organizer, that is what I am doing and observing…from the small details, on how to arrange the buses, the transport, the boats, it is well arranged.)

Arina said that the opening day of the Suroy Suroy event in Camotes was an embodiment of the island’s rich culture and history.

Suroy Suroy Pilipinas

Meanwhile, Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco, in her speech, during the second stop of the guided package tour in Lake Danao in San Francisco, congratulated Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia for the “very successful” hosting of the Suroy Suroy Sugbo, that had become a model for tourism development nationwide.

“So, successful has it been that we in the Department of Tourism, we seek to do for the rest of the Philippines to give an opportunity to our tourists to get to know the heart and soul of the Filipino through our Festivals, our food, the work of our local artisans and makers,” the Secretary said.

Frasco also encouraged tourists, local and international, to continue to support tourism activities and initiatives in the country.

“Remember, that every time you travel, every time you book a flight, a boat trip, you book a hotel, you support a Filipino family. You helped our tourism workers; you provide help to our tourism stakeholders. You help our nation building,” she said.

“So, I continue to encourage you to continue to Suroy Suroy because after this Suroy Suroy Sugbo, as we benchmark this all over the Philippines, soon, we will have a “Suroy Suroy Pilipinas,” she added.

The tourism secretary also manifested the department’s continued support for local government units that champion tourism, as she emphasized that tourism was one of the “greatest” contributors to the country’s economy.

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