Foreign biking buffs now eyeing Visayas

CEBU, Philippines - Apart from diving, Southern Philippines, especially the Visayas corridor is now becoming the top destination of choice among international biking enthusiasts, specifically Europeans exploring the different provinces in the Visayas through a biking excursion.

Alice Queblatin, past president of the Cebu Association of Tour Operators, said that groups of biking hobbyist especially Swiss, Germans and Italians are now increasingly coming in to book for 10 to 12 days biking adventure using usually the Cebu-Bohol-Siquijor, and Negros Oriental routes.

The Cebu-Bohol-Camiguin biking route is also gaining popularity among the foreign bikers.

Queblatin, who also owns one of the most established travel agencies in Cebu, Southwinds Travel and Tours, said that the Philippines' image outside of local color, natural beauty and wide stretch of countryside, are just few of the many factors that draw adventure sports tourism to the country, particularly in Southern Philippines.

This kind of outdoor sports tourism related activity has been very popular in other Asian countries for quite a while already in Asia, Thailand, Malaysia, among others, but it is only recently that the Philippines has been able to gain ground in the "special interest" tourism products, like biking.

A group of bikers for instance is usually composed of 10 to 15 people, some are couples, and will do their biking trip around the region in 10 to 12 days.

These affluent active tourists will spend at least US$150 a day, this is only for accommodation and meals expenses, excluding other usual tourists' expenditures.

Queblatin said that since these tourists are professionals, some of them are group of doctors, they also hold free medical missions on the side in communities they discover along the way.

"Some of them have adopted communities. I know for one community in Badian that is now adopted by a group of European bikers," said Queblatin in an interview yesterday.

This emerging excursion activity, will open the eyes of the these foreign tourists to the real country lives, Queblatin said adding that this kind of authentic rural "way of life" and culture capture the attention and interest of this particular European market.

Queblatin, who is also the Tourism Congress vice president for Travel and Tour Group for Visayas added that from mass tourism which offers the usual itinerary of shopping, beach, night life, culture and heritage tours mostly in urban areas, the new wave of tourists now are more interested in countryside emersion, and other special interest activities. (FREEMAN)