3.6-M tourists targetted for Cebu

CEBU CITY —A group of national travel agencies is aiming to bring at least 3.6-million tourists to Cebu but stressed that much work is still needed to achieve the target, especially in terms of hotel rooms and tourism promotions.

National Association of Independent Travel Agencies (Naitas) president Robert Lim Joseph said the group is aiming at bringing in at least 3.6 million tourists to Cebu but that would mean the construction of more five-star hotels and tourism establishments to accommodate the influx of visitors.

Joseph, who was guest at the weekly 888 News Forum, said there is also a need to involve barangays and schools in promoting tourism here to further attract visitors.

One of the ways that Naitas will do to promote tourism in Cebu is to get the involvement of the barangay by providing them with tourism materials like brochures, fliers, and compact discs that will inform them of who tourism should be promoted. Joseph also said that the group will tap the schools here in promoting tourism.

Earlier, the Department of Tourism (DoT) Region 7 said it is targeting at least three million tourists to visit Central Visayas this year, or 200,000 more than the 2.8 million tourists that dropped by Region 7 last year.

Regional director Pat Roa is hopeful that the three million target will be reached this year with the opening of two new direct flights to Cebu, the Shanghai-Cebu and Palau-Cebu chartered flights that will start in two weeks.

Starting June, China Southern Airlines will fly to Cebu twice a week and five times a week starting September. The Palau-Cebu direct flights will be carried out by Asian Spirit and will begin in the middle of May.