Capitol eyes to set up Visitor’s Bureau

CEBU, Philippines — The Cebu Provincial Government has announced their plan to establish a Visitor's Bureau, during the 21st Inter-Island Tourism Policy(ITOP) Forum.

Cebu Vice Governor Agnes Magpale made this announcement in her speech during the turn-over ceremony of the ITOP flag from the provincial government of Cebu, Philippines to the provincial government of Penang, Malaysia who will host the 22nd ITOP next year.  Magpale said that the idea came about after they heard some of the speakers from the other ITOP participants.

The planned Visitor’s Bureau will soon be established by the Provincial Government to help support the tourism sector in Cebu and will address all concerns of foreign tourists.

The said office, Magpale explained, will have direct links to international tourist offices and ideally have the list of all major events all over the world, which is a common practice of the Visitor’s Bureau of several ITOP members.

With the list, Cebu would be able to submit bids so that the province can host more international events.

This was one of the outcomes of the discussions during the forum hosted by the Cebu Province this year. The topics centered on how to make member provinces into international destinations for Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions (MICE).

Governor Hilario Davide III verbally gave the go ahead for Magpale to announce the plan during the turn-over ceremony.

Magpale sees the need to establish such office in order to answer the inquiries and set bookings.

“All of them (ITOP members) have a Visitor’s Bureau in the local level. Wala sila mag-depend sa national government in the booking and schedule of foreign conventions,” she added.

Although there is the National Promotion and Tourism Board which does the job, Magpale thinks that it is not sufficient to address the needs of travelers going to different Philippine destinations, particularly Cebu.

“Mura’g kuwang, wa ta matagad sa national (government),” she remarked.

Moreover, Magpale said that setting up the office would be extra work for her but she is willing to do it since it is also the Governor’s wish to have one to further boost the province’s tourism industry.

More details about the bureau are still being formulated, added Magpale.

“1521” Magazine

To widely promote tourism in the Province, the Cebu Provincial Government through its tourism office has launched its first magazine featuring tourist destinations in the island.  The "1521" magazine was introduced Friday night at the Capitol Social Hall and will be released quarterly.

 “1521 is the threshold of when it all began” said Joselito "Boboi" Costas head of the Provincial Tourism Office, in his speech during the launch.  The year 1521 was when ''Cebu entered into the annals of written history'' after the discovery of the island by the Portuguese explorer, Ferdinand Magellan.

"The year is both auspicious and foreboding. If it were not for 1521, there would be no 1565, when the second wave of conquistadores came, found the Sto. Niño image and established a colonial city," Costas narrated.

Costas said that the magazine also bears the basic information needed by tourists. This will be distributed to areas that have volumes of tourists, such as airports and hotels.

On its first issue, the "1521" magazine featured "Cebu's Big 5" tourist destination with Miss Tourism International 2013 Angeli Dione Gomez as its first cover girl.

Eyed as a marketing tool, the next issue of “1521” will feature luxurious tourism activities and destinations in Cebu.

The "Big 5" destinations were also launched Friday night with representatives from towns in Alcoy, Argao, Alegria, Aloguinsan and Boljoon.  Governor Hilario Davide III also present for the launch.

"We are launching two projects that will promote sustainable tourism in Cebu as well as culture, history, and heritage," said Costas.

Costas said the Big 5 have their unique style of tourism with community-based effort.

In Alcoy, tourists can explore the forest of Nug-as for bird watching and nature-trek, while visitors to Aloguinsan would experience the Bojo River Cruise which was recognized as one of the top 100 sustainable destinations in the world.

For food delicacies, visitors can head to Argao for a culinary tour and taste the town’s famous torta.

The town of Alegria bears the wellness and adventure tours, and Boljoon has its heritage tour.

Costas said they would want to focus on sustainable tourism.

“With this Big 5, we are slowly shifting towards a more sustainable, greener kind of tourism, a destination that will probably work for discerning and green travelers and tourists,” Costas said.

"If you look at it, there’s really a direction towards sustainable tourism efforts, maybe subconsciously we are looking at Cebu as a different brand," he added.

He earlier said that aside from the uniqueness of the sites, the selection of the Big 5 destinations was based on the community-based efforts that were already established in the towns.

“These 5 destinations are actually what we call low hanging fruits. In other words, we know that by working on these 5 destinations in 5 towns we would get a faster and easier way of getting things done,” he said. (FREEMAN)