Cebu organizers support DOT’s Sport Tourism project

CEBU, Philippines — Sports event organizers and stakeholders in Cebu showed support on Department of Tourism -Central Visayas’ program in developing sports tourism in the region.

Spearheaded by the DOT-7, several sports and tourism advocates from Region-7 convene last Tuesday at the MJ Hotel and Suites to discuss DOT’s project that will forge partnership among sports organizers and stakeholders to boost sports tourism in the region.

Kenneth Casquejo of Cebu Executive Runners Club, organizer of Cebu City Marathon, said this effort will amplify the tourism industry in Cebu.

“It’s high time that DOT maximize the sports tourism program by collaborating with various sporting event organizers and stakeholders in Cebu. Once this will materialize it will further boost the bustling tourism industry in our region,” Casquejo said.

John Paul Maunes, the organizer of the 1st Cebu City Regatta, also believed that the project will  be beneficial to different sectors.

“The forum provides a huge platform for sport event’s organizers to bring their event into a different level wherein the tourism sector and the sports community can coordinate their efforts together in to pool in resources that will benefit both sectors,” said Maunes.

DOT-7 Regional Director Shalimar Tamano has long identified sports tourism as a prospective to boost tourist arrivals in the region.

“Sporting events improve the image of a destination. If you are a sports hub which is what we are trying to promote and to project, then it immediately changes the image of a city,” said Tamano, who is a former athlete and a sports enthusiast.