DOT-7: Cebu leads in tourism recovery

CEBU, Philippines — Cebu’s tourism industry is starting to improve albeit slowly, as people are slowly taking brief leisure trips to nearby destinations.

Department of Tourism (DOT-7) regional director Shalimar Tamano made this comment expressing strong confidence that Cebu’s tourism is already on track towards recovery.

In fact, he noted that Cebu is doing a stellar job in tourism recovery efforts, saying “Cebu is doing better than other regions.”

He noted the full occupancy reports of some hotels and resorts within the Cebu province especially during the holy week season.

 According to Tamano, people are starting to take leisure vacations, in city hotels, beach resorts and even farm destinations.

  In fact, he said DOT-7 is closely coordinating with its head office in Manila immediately implement the program in partnership with Department of Labor (DOLE) to prioritize vaccination of tourism frontliners.

 Meanwhile, Tamano urged tourism stakeholders to make these recovery time much more productive by investing on facility improvement, training of staff, protect and nurture the environment “to prepare our products,” when full recovery comes.

When everything is settled and recovered, Tamano expects Cebu will have its “tourism high” times, as more travelers around the world have discovered its Bali, Indonesia- like charm.

Bali, Indonesia which is the world’s prominent island destination for tropical, culture and eritage, Cebu too has all these attractions, and a lot more, he added.

“The Island of Cebu is like Bali. Cebu is unique in Asia and I’ts in the center,” Tamano said adding that Cebu is not only the Queen City of the South, but should be tagged as “Queen City of Asia.”