Cebu rises to top RP destination

Cebu City’s hosting of ASEAN Summit proves it as the country’s No. 1 destination today, said Jose C. Clemente III, president of Philippine Travel Agencies Association (PTAA) and the family-owned 35-year-old Rajah Tours.

With all the proper elements in place — Cebu’s well developed infrastructure, land-sea-air accessibility, well exploited natural, cultural and historical assets — almost all other destinations in the country pale in contrast juxtaposed the queen City of the South.

To be held at the world-class, multimillion peso Cebu International Convention Center (CICC) until Jan. 14, the confab is intended to ensure the turnout of ASEAN 10-member countries of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Around 10,000 delegates from all over are expected to attend.

The government earlier deferred the annual meet amid a super typhoon threat and political noise that prompted the United States, Canada and Australia to issue travel advisories warning their respective citizens against traveling to the Philippines.

Drawing mixed feedbacks from different blocs, Cebu seemed to have collected comparable plus and minus points as far as RP’s status in the global travel and trade industry.

Irked delegates from abroad disappointed for not even being able to fly in last month due to the earlier cancellation were finally able to heave a sigh of relief that the summit is pushing through. Most have already paid 50 percent for hotel rooms and other meeting-related functions.

Hans Hauri, the seasoned Swiss general manager of Marco Polo Plaza Cebu, said it was a win-loss situation for the 329-room property with most of it booked for the premieres and delegates from China, Australia, New Zealand and the national organizing committee.

"It was not really a loss," he said, "since the respective groups had prepaid so they just carry over the amount to the new date. The winning side not all Cebu hotels are full this month so it’s an advantage that they are coming again for the second time," Hauri said.

The advantage of finally holding the ASEAN summit is that Cebu will become a brand name for future political gatherings. The ten-member countries signing of bilateral agreements here will even make Cebu a historical landmark.

The government took measures to protect the summit’s overall interest. About 40 percent of Cebu’s power supply comes from Leyte, which was badly hit by the typhoon.

On the minus side, Clemente III said, the postponement made RP a laughing stock of Asia. "Most Cebuanos said it was not necessary since the typhoon was not a threat to the venue at all. It happened at a most auspicious time that focused more on the issue of whether RP was a secure destination," said Clemente.

"We had bookings for January and some hotels bumped off our guests, like our big Australian group, asking us if they could retrieve their rooms? Hotels wanted to hike their rates and take advantage of the summit resumption. How will I explain that to the wholesalers, our bookings have been confirmed since December? The government should be wholistic in action. Faulty evaluation trickles to people all the way down with the mostly irreversible and risky outcome."

The 247-room Plantation Bay, a five-star resort hotel, host to two summit dinners this month, was not that hurt since some local delegates stayed shortly in the property last December. Some foreign delegates, though, did not even get the chance to fly into the island resort, said Kyra Cabaero, Plantation Bay public relations manager.

Cabaero said most of their bookings are non-summit related. The property is 90 percent full this month with mostly leisure groups. "Even before the current Russian influx, we have been already hosting groups from Russia and Kazakhstan," she said.

Another official host, the ShangriLa Mactan Cebu, was not so affected by the summit’s reset. The 547-room property will be home to delegates from Laos, Malaysia aside from their usual seasonal clients Korea, Hong Kong, Japan, and others.

Lesley Tan, Shangri-La Mactan’s assistant communications manager, said they did not come out empty-handed last month when some of the delegates pulled out. There were some wait-listed European guests who were able to take over the slots.

Meanwhile, Cebu’s prospect as a meetings and conventions destination is upbeat. "Cebu is a seller’s market, and while it basks in its glory, we can just sit back and wait for other destinations that are barely scratching the surface to come up," Clemente said.