Cebu food bazaar pioneer to keep weekend concept

CEBU, Philippines — The operator of Sugbo Mercado Food Bazaar Inc., (SMFBI) is maintaining its weekend concept amid calls from patrons urging for the food bazaar to go into daily operation.

"We are maintaining the Thursday to Sunday weekend operations at our flagship site at Sugbo Mercado Garden Bloc, Cebu I. T. Park as it is. The formula already works and if we shift to a daily market, the novelty of a weekend food market will be lost," said SMFBI  marketing and communications director Michael Karlo Lim.

Lim’s statement ensued after Cebu Association of Tour Operations Specialists (CATOS) president Alice Queblatin said that the travel specialists in Cebu would want to have a daily food bazaar operations to suit the daily and hectic itineraries of tourists, especially those who are traveling in groups.

Queblatin added that the food tourism attraction in Cebu is gaining traction, and that Sugbo Mercado is now becoming a popular destination among tourists, foreign and domestic visitors alike.

She said CATOS is going to reach out to the Sugbo Mercado management for a possible partnership, and that a daily availability of the bazaar is being "prayed for."

While the flagship area of SMFBI is Cebu IT Park will be sticking to its original weekend setup, Lim said the company is however opening a daily food bazaar in Mandaue City next year.

"We are working on an everyday food market concept, which will be a two-floor themed container van concept with a highly curated set of vendors to be located at the north reclamation area and set to open in the first quarter of 2018," announced Lim.

Aside from opening its doors to CATOS for partnership, Lim said the company is also going to engage the Department of Tourism (DOT) in order to aggressively promote Cebu's high potential to further develop food tourism as another come-on.

"We can engage the DOT and tour associations for that. In fact, we are looking at long term partnerships for that development," added Lim.

SMFBI is one of the pioneers in weekend food bazaar concept in Cebu, providing an avenue for start-up and home-based "foodtrepreneurs" to access the mainstream market.

For travelers, especially the foodies, local cuisine is as important as the destination itself when planning a trip. (FREEMAN)