Young travelers target local island escapades

CEBU, Philippines — Cebuano travelers are now looking at neighboring islands like Siargao, Camiguin, Coron and El Nido as top favorite short-leisure destinations.

Based on the performance of the recently concluded International Tourism Fair (ITF 2018), young group of friends as well as families are booking leisure vacation packages in these island destinations, said  the event’s co-organizer Juliet Amazona.

The local traveling market is getting younger, while friends or “barkadas” are spending their money on memorable travel escapades, she said.

In the last two years, interest among Cebuanos and local travelers had been significantly increasing.

Other undiscovered sites in the regional areas, like Caraga Province, Eastern Visayas, and others are also among the few of the emerging vacation destination targets among Cebuano adventure seekers.

Based on Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) domestic tourists contributed P7.3 billion to the region’s cash flow in 2017, basing only the average length of stay of 1.5 days per vacation and daily expenditure of P1,200.

 The provinces of Cebu and Bohol are among the top 10 destinations preferred by local tourists, according to the recent study, PSA record showed.

According to Philippine Airlines’ senior assistant vice president for Visayas and Mindanao sales and services, Harry Inoferio, younger batch of travelers is more active now.

Those who are working at the call centers are spending weekend get-aways in other domestic destinations.

In lieu of Boracay (which is still under rehabilitation), the popular leisure escapes are Siargao, Legazpi, Albay, and Puerto Princesa, Palawan.