Cordova revives tourism with local tour packages

CEBU, Philippines —  Heeding with the Provincial government’s push to re-open the tourism industry, the municipality of Cordova on Mactan Island is launching a series of activities to interest domestic tourists.

In an interview with Cordova Mayor Mary Therese Sitoy-Cho, she said the town will be launching its tourism recovery plan through “Dance with the Marine Life” and “Sing with the Mangroves” tour packages, to start off the re-opening of tourism, one of the town’s economic drivers.

“These tour packages were created to spur the economy and create source of income for the people while protecting them against Covid-19 contamination,” said Cho.

Considered as the home of the Netflix-featured “Bakasi” recipe delicacy, the town of Cordova, is now slowly attracting local tourists, the lady Mayor said.

The Dance with the Marine Life will take guests to Alegria marine sanctuary, Gilutungan marine and Nalusuan marine sanctuary sanctuary where they”ll enjoy snorkeling and marine watching.

The Sing with the Mangroves tour package, on the other hand, highlights the sightseeing at the bird sanctuary, Bakhaw Paradise and swimming and rowing at Catarman Mangrove Park.

By supporting the residents get into business again and go back to their livelihood, Cho said these tour packages will help stir up the interest of local tourists.

These packages are also introduced to revisit Cebu’s natural tourism jewels after the almost five months of strict community lockdown.

The Cebu Province is now under the modified general community quarantine, which refers to the transition phase between general community quarantine and new normal.

The town of Cordova is also targeting the adventurous side of millennials, as she believes that this bunch of travelers will lead the revival of tourism, not only in Cordova, but the entire country.

These young travelers, she added are the ones who spend more time online, discovering and learning about the Covid-19 developments and the various efforts put in place by both private and public sector in containing the spread of the virus.

Currently, four to five accommodation facilities in Cordova are open, the rest are waiting for Department of Tourism (DOT) accreditation for health and safety protocols.