CEBU, Philippines — The travel and tour sector in Cebu has downplayed the British government’s recent issuance of travel warning to its citizens, saying it won’t affect tourism in the province.
As this developed, tourists continue to arrive in droves at the top tourist destinations in the south.
Cebu Alliance of Tour Operations Specialists (CATOS) president Alice Queblatin said that while another round of travel advisory was released by United Kingdom recently, “it’s the same advisory they issued and was already made public few weeks back.”
The recent bombing of a cathedral in Jolo, Sulu that killed at least 27 churchgoers and left some injured
prompted the UK government to issue another travel warning for British travelers to some destinations in Visayas and Mindanao.
The travel advisory put Mindanao region (excluding Camiguin, Dinagat and Siargao Islands), and the southern part of Cebu province, including the municipalities of Dalaguete and Badian, in the red flag due to the threat of terrorism.
“We recently met with authorities (military, police, intelligence officials) and we were told that there is no threat of terrorism in Cebu. And the province is safe,” said Queblatin in an interview yesterday.
She said foreign tourists, especially the province’s active markets like Japanese, Koreans, and Chinese, are still coming in bulk, and they see no cancellations of bookings ahead.
In fact, travel operators have difficulty controlling the number of tourists going to a destination like Oslob, as numbers are consistently rising.
“Clients are not even asking about it [safety and security issues],”added Queblatin.
However, she said the travel and tour sector continues to be vigilant.
So far, there is no visual impact in tourism seen due to the recent bombing and the British travel advisory.
Early this year, UK issued a warning against traveling to Mindanao after an improvised explosive device exploded at the entrance of the South Seas shopping mall in Cotabato City on Dec. 31.
The same advisory was released following the incident. (FREEMAN)