SEOUL, South Korea —The devastating earthquake in Cebu and Bohol has affected tourism as well.
The Philippine Department of Tourism’s office here has received reports of cancellations of bookings to Cebu and Bohol, which happen to be the top two favorite destinations of Koreans.
Cancellations are already estimated to number around a thousand.
But Tourism Director and Attaché Maricon Basco-Ebron said travel agents are hoping to convince South Korean tourists to instead visit other destinations in the Philippines such as Boracay and Palawan.
“Bohol and Cebu are the favorite destinations of Koreans. We were alarmed actually. We’ve seen all the destinations ruined by the earthquake. Kaagad-agad, nagtawag kami ng aming mga ahente dito and mga airlines and we are given reports that there are a lot of cancellations. But I think it should not be a cause for alarm. Some of the agents are trying to bring them to other destinations in the Philippines. ‘Yun naman ang magandang resulta. That’s why we have to be fast on the draw,” Ebron said.
South Korea is the Philippines’s top source of tourists, contributing 1,031,155 tourist arrivals in 2012. The DOT is targeting to attract 1.2 million tourists this year.
Of the million South Korean tourists that visit the Philippines, about 30% go to Bohol and Cebu.
“I think the reason why they like Cebu is they find everything in one place. There’s culture there, there’s the beach and a lot of them go to Cebu for (English) studies,” Ebron said, adding that tourists also find Cebu very safe.
Ebron hopes that the cancellations of trips to Bohol and Cebu would only be temporary and that Koreans would only defer their trips or choose another destination in the Philippines.
“We’re trying to bring them to other destinations para imbes na mag-cancel sila for Cebu and Bohol perhaps we can bring them to Boracay or Palawan, to the other destinations that we have.”
source: www.abs-cbnnews.com
