Davao summer tourist arrivals to increase by 10%
March 11, 2017 at 06:59am
Department of Tourism Regional Director Robby Alabado III said this year, they expect a greater influx of tourists that will be more than the 300,000 tourist arrivals recorded in summer 2016.
VDSF will run from April 16 to May 31 featuring discount offers in airfare, accommodations, tours, dining, shopping, and beauty and wellness among others.
Adventures and activities relating to sports, arts, and nightlife are also expected during the entire course of the event. Davao Tourism Association will also retain the mall-wide and city-wide shopping sale as how VDSF initially started.
“Last year, activities were just concentrated on Davao City, Samal, and Davao del Sur. But for this year, we have expanded it going to Oriental and as we know, since last year, Oriental has been gaining a lot of attention,” said Alabado, adding that Mt. Hamiguitin which was named a Unesco heritage site a few years ago.
He is optimistic that with the inclusion of Davao Oriental in the VDSF, an increase of tourist arrivals can be expected.
“In 2015 and 2016, we saw a spike in entry of tourists in April and May. In fact, it almost approximated the entry of tourists in August in Kadayawan. We started VDFS in 2014. Usually, the peak is in August during Kadayawan but when we started VDFS, we saw a spike during April and May. That’s the effect of VDFS,” said Davao Fun Sale Executive Committee Chair Benjie Lizada.
Mati City Local Economic Investments and Promotions Officer Tanya Rabat-Tan said for this year’s VDFS, they plan to incorporate a bigger national skimboarding competition along with Frisbee and volleyball contests.
These events were already done in Mati city but Tan said they would want to highlight it more this year together with the other activities of other regions.
Davao Oriental Tourism Consultant Cynthia Rodriguez said their province will proudly showcase different heritage sites and natural views such as the Mt. Hamiguitin, Aliwagwag, and the Tres Marias Falls.
The 5th Mt. Apo Boulderface Challenge will also be included in the event on April 30. The participants will do water tubing, mountain bike marathons, and trail running for the course of the challenge. The event has a prelude mountain marathon on April 29.
“We do these in the spirit of improving and upgrading services. What’s good for the Philippines is good for Davao. What’s good for the other countries is also good for the Philippines,” said Lizada.
Source: sunstar.com.ph
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