Floating restaurants like this cruise the Loboc River in Bohol, a popular tourist experience. (CDN FILE PHOTO)
At least 21 guided tours offered by the Department of Tourism (DOT) to delegates of APEC were availed of since Thursday, giving visitors a chance to see more than the inside of a Cebu hotel.
“I think they are happy because they bought the tour packages,” said DOT 7 Regional Director Rowena Montecillo.
The packages include Cebu city tours and a Bohol day visit.
About 50 delegates bought tour packages to explore Cebu City and Mactan Island. With their limited free time, some opted to swim or snorkel in Shangri-La’s Mactan Island Resort and Spa or Maribago Bluewater Resort.
Most of the delegates who bought tour packages were Chinese and Japanese.
DOT heads the APEC sub-committee on the tours and spouses program.
The tour packages for APEC delegates include the Cebu Island Arts, Crafts, and Industry Tour; Island Hopping Safari; Cebu Highlands Tour; Cebu Countryside Tour and Village Experience; Dive Cebu; Spa and Wellness Package; Cebu Food Trip; and Bohol in a Day Adventure.
DOT also offers complimentar tours for delegates to get a glimpse of Cebu’s historic past, present day attractions, and upcoming developments is also available.
Montecillo said that while they are encouraged to book tours with DOT, delegates are free to go around on their own.
“They are really free to go around,” she said.
Police officials reported that at least three Chinese delegates left their hotel after a meeting and went to Panglao Island in Bohol on their own.
Montecillo said she wouldn’t want to use the term “sneak out” to describe what the delegates had done.
“These people are seasoned travelers. They may have checked out Panglao on the Internet. Maybe they wanted to go to Bohol and stay in Panglao for a while. I am sure they did their research on that,” said Montecillo.
Chief Supt. Prudencio Bañas, regional director of the Police Regional Office Central Visayas (PRO-7), said that four delegates left their hotel in the morning of Monday and safely returned at night.
They took the river cruise in Loboc and visited beaches in Panglao, Bohol.
Montecillo emphasized that the local organizing committee cannot stop delegates from making their own arrangements as tourists.
She said many delegates are “seasoned travelers” having participated in past APEC meetings all over the world.
The director said that if the delegates want to go on tours offered by the DOT, it can be arranged for them.
She said DOT also offers a package that can be customized for the delegates’ free time.
However, the tour will only be around Cebu City since delegates typically have two to three hours of free time.