Cebu City, among Taiwanese best tourist destinations
There is no denying that the naming of Cebu City among the top ten cities preferred by Taiwanese tourists in 2019 is heartwarming. It means that we are chosen by our chink-eyed neighbors as the most sought after Philippine city as a place for them to visit and behold. We are happy and proud to be included in that exclusive list specially that there is no other Philippine city that is so distinctly honored. Indeed, that is a welcome development for our city. The expected influx of these foreigners is proof of the prominence of our metropolis as it may be compared with the other cities in Asia.
There are several reported factors considered by these Taiwan travelers that led to the identification of these preferred tourists spots in Asia. It is most gratifying considering that historically speaking, our country is comparably young. If we consider that there are the Borobodor and Angkor Vat in the other South East Asian countries to signify the development of their country’s civilization centuries ahead of the Philippines, the accomplishment of Cebu City as to rank among the ideal places to visit is a tribute to the collective vision of our past leadership.
Still, this article, while trumpeting the honor Cebu City has just earned among Taiwanese jet-setters is, true to its off tangent nature, not just about touting our accomplishment. It is rather a call to our present leadership to re-engineer what we have for our city to continue attracting other tourists in addition to those coming from our northern neighbor deep into the future and harvest, in the process, a sort of foreseeable economic windfall.
Let us start with our roads to the mountain barangays and allow me to cite a specific example. A little more than a decade ago, it was difficult to reach that part of Barangay Sirao people now fondly call as Little Amsterdam which, by the way is definitely a must-see of a site for everyone. True, the Transcentral Highway was already existing (as it was built during the governorship of Lito Osmena) but the short distance from the junction of Pong-ol Sibugay to Sirao was no better than a worn out Macadam road such that negotiating it was a challenge. Now that it is a concrete stretch, tourists flock to that site.
Even then, that road is, by international standards, narrow. I remember that former mayor Michael Rama poured the resources of the city to link the mountain barangays with concrete infrastructures, the Sirao road being one. In his administration’s efforts, travel from the city to and between mountain barangays improved. Agricultural products got transported to the city easier, quicker and faster.
But, believe me, the design of these public works project was, as it continues to be, that of being a feeder road. Planners apply the term “farm-to-market-road” to these constructions. Understandably, these are not four lane highways and therefore not of the kind foreigners may be accustomed to. I fear that the interest of horde of future visitors in our mountain resorts can be dampened by uncomfortable trips and such beautiful sight the Little Amsterdam offers cannot get its corresponding share of visitors.
The city must undertake a massive road building program to the mountains. Here, our warring political groups can find a united front. These projects must be carefully planned, appropriately funded and safely engineered taking into account the environmental perils of land slides. Existing roads have to be widened. If they were just carved from the foot trails of our predecessors and need to be rerouted to meet safety standards, then that should be done. The constructions need to be aimed at such multiple targets as effecting the conversion of idle lands into productive fields, providing access to areas good for residential purposes and developing irresistible tourist attractions. This task is made even more urgent because our recent achievement in tourism cannot stand still. As we always say, there is no better time to take this course but now.
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