CNTraveler award to help revive tourism in Cebu, Visayas

TOP ISLANDS IN ASIA AWARD. Undated photo shows boatmen preparing to bring tourists for island hopping at the Panglao Island’s Alona beach. Presidential Assistant for the Visayas Secretary Michael Lloyd Dino on Thursday (Oct. 22, 2020) said the Condé Nast Traveler’s (CNT) 2020 Readers’ Choice Awards recognizing the islands in Cebu and the Visayas as Top Islands in Asia, is a good platform for recovery of the ailing tourism industry amid the Covid-19 pandemic. (PNA photo by John Rey Saavedra)

CEBU CITY – The recognition from an international travel magazine for Cebu and the Visayas islands as Top Islands in Asia is a good platform for the tourism industry to recover from the impact of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic, Secretary Michael Lloyd Dino said on Thursday.

The islands in Cebu and the Visayas have been named Top Island in Asia, leading three other Philippine islands in the Top 10 of the Condé Nast Traveler’s (CNT) 2020 Readers’ Choice Awards.

CNTraveler is a luxury and lifestyle travel magazine published by Condé Nast.

The magazine invited 600,000 travelers to vote online for the Top Islands in six areas such as Asia, Australia and the South Pacific, the Caribbean and the Atlantic, Africa and the Indian Ocean, Europe, and North America.

“This is a welcome development as some tourist destinations in the Visayas are starting to open up to the entry of tourists,” Dino, the presidential assistant for the Visayas, said in a statement, as he pointed out the adverse effect of the pandemic to the economy in the Visayas.

The ban on travel due to the Covid-19 crisis affected the economy in Central and Western Visayas.

The National Economic Development Authority in Western Visayas noted that the region could have earned around PHP19 billion from March 17 to April 30, 2020 when the supposed visit of about 875,000 tourists was halted due to the pandemic.

On the other hand, NEDA-7 estimated the foregone revenues for Central Visayas’ tourism sector to reach a total of USD465 million (PHP23.6 billion) for the first six months of 2020.

Dino said tourism has been a major economic driver in the Visayas.

He said the CNTraveler recognition will boost efforts to convince tourists to travel to the various tourist destinations here.

“The recovery of tourism sector will benefit not only the hotels, resorts and restaurants but also the micro, small and medium enterprises providing support services such as the sea and land transportation firms,” Dino said.

He said the increase in visitor arrivals “will also have major impact on the agriculture sector since the demand for their product will increase once tourists return”.

Dino said the Department of Tourism, in coordination with the Department of Health, the Department of Trade and Industry and other national agencies, are working closely to ensure health protocols are in place for safe travel amid the continuing threat of Covid-19.

“Of course, minimum health protocols shall be strictly observed. We don’t want our locals who are dependent on tourism to wait for the vaccine. We want them to live in the new normal at the same time revive the tourism which is our backbone in the economy,” he added.

The CNTraveler featured various destinations in Cebu such as its pristine beaches, diving sites, the Kawasan Falls in Badian, as among the popular tourist destinations.

An article of the magazine said Cebu draws nearly two million travelers annually for its pristine beaches and diving spots off the island’s northern coast.

It also said the Spanish and Roman Catholic influences permeate Cebu City, citing the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño which houses a small statue of Christ that was presented by Ferdinand Magellan.