Improve infra support for airports, seaports — tourism official

To remain globally competitive amid a fast-growing international tourism industry, resources should all the more be put where they are needed.

Judy Gabato, Department of Tourism Central Visayas (DOT-7) officer-in-charge, said investments should be poured into infrastructure support for airports and seaports as well as enhancing the quality of products and services they offer.

“Our rich and diverse natural attractions as tourism products are reasons why warm bodies keep coming to our destinations,” she told Cebu Daily News.

According to the latest report from the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), cited in a recent Inquirer story, tourist arrivals globally posted a 4-percent increase to 956 million in the first nine months of the year.

This further solidifies tourism’s position as one of the fastest growing economic sectors in the world.

UNWTO secretary general Taleb Rifai, in a statement, said that tourism remains to be very sensitive to risks despite it being one of the most resilient and fastest-growing sectors.

As such, he said governments and private stakeholders should enhance cooperation to minimize risks, respond effectively, and build traveler confidence.

Demand for international tourism remained strong from January to September this year, albeit growing at a more moderate pace, according to the latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer.

The UNWTO reported that the Asia-Pacific led growth in international tourist arrivals across world regions, logging a 9-percent increase in international tourist arrivals during the period in review.

The DOT earlier announced that it already breached the 4-million mark in tourist arrivals from January to August this year.

According to the agency, the figure was 12.59 percent higher than the 3.59 million arrivals registered during the same period in 2015.

Cebu Association of Tour Operators (CATO) president Edilberto Mendoza, for his part, said he sees potential in Cebu’s Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, Exhibits (MICE) market aside from leisure.

“Cebu has been positioned as a MICE destination. It’s about time we push on this,” he said.

Mendoza said the growth of tourism globally may be attributed to more airlines and hotels offering promo rates for travelers.

He said that even Cebu has its fair share of global tourism growth, registering 2.3 million tourist arrivals in the first seven months of the year.

Based on the partial DOT-7 report, Central Visayas welcomed a total of 3.16 million tourists within that period, the bulk of which visited Cebu.

The data used were from tourism establishments across the region.

Cenelyn Manguilimotan, former president of the Hotels, Resorts, and Restaurants Association of Cebu (HRRAC), said the tourism sector here should ride on the popularity of social media to further boost its position in the global market.

She said Cebu has to make sure it has good online visibility as well as enticing tour packages for both foreign and local visitors.

“Tourism will continue to grow globally, especially with our era (being) dominated by social media,” said Manguilimotan.

She added that traveling around the world has become easier and checking tour destinations can be done with just a swipe or tap of a finger.