Bohol tourism is seeing a comeback

0a11_3415
0a11_3415
Avatar of Linda Hohnholz
Written by Linda Hohnholz

BOHOL, Philippines – A year after the devastating earthquake, the key industry of tourism in Bohol is seeing a comeback.

BOHOL, Philippines – A year after the devastating earthquake, the key industry of tourism in Bohol is seeing a comeback.

“Tourism is picking up, although not as fast as we want it to be. Tourism players are smiling once again. Tourists appear to be coming back,” said Rommel Gonzales, president of the Bohol Association of Hotels, Resorts and Restaurants.

Accommodation establishments within Panglao Island now log an average of 30 percent to 40 percent occupancy, better than the occupancy levels of the last quarter of 2013 and first quarter of 2014.

“It was a very stressful in the last quarter of 2013 when you know that resorts and hotels should be anticipating bookings for Christmas holidays,” said Gonzales, who is also the general manager of Bellevue Resort Bohol.

The 7.2 magnitude earthquake took a toll on Bohol’s tourism, one of the province’s major income earners. The immediate aftereffects of shattered heritage sites and fearful tourists translated into a 15.25 percent drop in tourist arrivals in the last quarter of 2013.

Slow recovery

Recovery has been slow, with January-June figures showing total arrivals still down by 12.31 percent compared to the same period last year. Local tourists, Bohol’s biggest market, declined by 19.56 percent while foreign tourists logged a 5.81 percent growth.

“It is still the fear of aftershocks that makes tourists, especially the locals, hesitant to visit Bohol again. But we are giving it a year, we will reach the normalcy level in terms of arrivals,” said lawyer Lucas Nunag, chairman of Bohol’s Provincial Tourism Council.

While the earthquake’s epicenter is located between the municipalities of Catigbian and Sagbayan, businesses in neighboring areas like Panglao Island, which is famous for its white sand beaches, was badly affected although accommodation establishments only incurred minimal aesthetic damages.

As a result, Panglao Bluewater Resort resident manager Edison Navas said, they had to adjust shifting schedules of their on-call staff, among other measures, because of low arrivals.

“Resorts in Panglao Island have slashed rates by as much as 50 percent just to entice tourists,” he said.

Prior to the earthquake, occupancy rates in Panglao Island were at 60 percent and up, depending on the season.

The last quarter of 2013, which was supposed to be peak season in Bohol’s tourism, recorded a decline in both domestic and foreign arrivals at 13.31 percent and 20.16 percent, respectively. Korea, Japan, and China are Bohol’s top source markets.

“The news hurt us badly. We expected another banner year, but the impression about Bohol, after the earthquake, was a major challenge to us,” said Nunag, the owner of Amarela Resort in Panglao, Island.

“It was only in the second quarter of this year when we began to see tourists coming back, especially from the foreign market,” he said.

But amid the challenges of reviving the tourism industry, Nunag said tourism stakeholders are concentrating on the future.

Among the province’s programs are re-training and developing skills of human resources, implementing disaster preparedness plan, conducting media familiarization tours and promoting tourism marketing.

International exposure

“Bohol was given much international exposure in terms of marketing and promotions since day one after the earthquake. Organizations like USAid, Jica, UNWTO and PATA, among others have come together to help Bohol right away,” said Department of Tourism (DOT) 7 Director Rowena Montecillo.

Bohol Gov. Edgar Chatto personally marketed Bohol in the recent Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Fair in Cambodia, where the USAid-Compete Project sponsored six tourism-related companies to join the travel fair.

Montecillo said Bohol also hosted media familiarization tours for both local and foreign media and hosted big conventions such as Philippine Travel Exchange 2014, ASEAN Climate Change and the most recently, the Safeguard 5i50 Triathlon 2014, which are all meant to re-introduce Bohol as a must-visit destination.

Nunag pointed out the trauma that happened a year ago needed to be replaced by optimism and knowledge that in order to regain what they lost, they need to create some kind of normality.

“The positive effect of the calamity was that it brought all stakeholders both in public and private entities to be united. Everyone collaborated and showed support towards bringing tourism back,” he said.

“We were aggressive compared before. It looks like we are more energized this time,” he saod. “We didn’t see the calamity as downtime, but, more of a time to refurbish.”

New destinations came up as a result of the tourism evaluation even in the most affected areas.

“The country and the world should expect to see a much better Bohol this time around,” said Nunag.

Chocolate Hills Adventure Park in Carmen, Bohol emerged as an alternate viewing of the Chocolate Hills. It features a number of activities such as bicycle zipline with the Chocolate Hills as backdrop.

Part of script

Tourism players also eye a new cluster of attractions in sites hit by the earthquake, these include the new landscapes that arose from the geological upheaval in Brgy. Anonang, wider coastline in the historic Maribojoc Punta Tower Watch and the ruins of some historical churches in Loon, Loboc and Baclayon.

“Tour guides in Bohol now include the October calamity in their tour guiding script.

They underwent trainings to effectively relay the story,” said Montecillo.

On top of the new attractions, Nunag disclosed that by next year, Bohol will embark on more aggressive tourism promotions as they introduce more products such as farm tourism and Anda as a new beach destination.

“We will be pushing several sites for farm tourism in Bohol that offer naturally-grown fruits, vegetables, herbs, and livestock among others. We have identified at least three farm sites that are ready to accept guests in Balilihan, Catigbian and Maribojoc,” he said.

While making a living in tourism meant dealing with various challenges including uncertainties in the environment, tourism players in Bohol have remained optimistic of a brighter industry ahead, starting off with this holiday season.

“The earthquake may have rocked our province but never the Boholanos’ faith. In fact, we are even more excited because Bohol will be a different, much improved eco-tourism destination now,” said Nunag.

“With all the help that continues to pour in, Bohol can now be considered a model for disaster recovery and Boholanos, on the other hand, is an epitome of a resilient Filipino,” said Nunag.

About the author

Avatar of Linda Hohnholz

Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

Share to...