EDITORIAL - The tourism challenge

Here is some good news. Cebu Province recorded more than 1.08 million tourist arrivals from January to August 2026, a 12.78% percent increase from the same period last year.

According to a story in this newspaper, the Cebu Provincial Tourism Office said there were 1,080,809 tourist arrivals during that period, or 122,492 more than the 958,317 arrivals recorded from January to August 2025.

The increase covered local as well as foreign tourists; domestic arrivals reached 838,575, up 9.19% from the previous year, while foreign arrivals rose 27.28% to 242,108.

With these figures, we suppose we are doing something right with regards to our tourism, arguably one of the biggest industries of the province.

But then again, who can resist Cebu? Aside from being right smack in the middle of the country, there are few places around the Philippines where people can enjoy a variety of mountain, sea, and urban attractions all within a few hours of each other.

So now we have to make sure those tourists keep coming and have no reason to stay away.

We have reason to step up our game. While Cebu has unique tourist attractions, we aren’t the only island attraction in the country.

We also aren’t the only attraction in Southeast Asia either; as a matter of fact, we are getting stiff competition from other countries that are offering cheaper travel packages. Some say it is now cheaper to visit Vietnam than some of our neighboring islands in Central Visayas.

This also goes to say we should not be taking for granted our own tourist attractions. We have to make sure we keep them sustainable, because there is a such a thing as loving something too much.

We should also not “sabotage” our own tourism industry by disrespecting or victimizing our tourists and visitors. Fortunately, cases like the rude Badian canyoneering guide, the overcharging taxi driver, and the overcharging water vendor, are quite few and far between.

With that said, the tourism authorities of the province should keep doing whatever it is doing to reel the tourists in.