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Cebu attracts events

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CEBU, Philippines, 24 January 2019:  Cebu will be the host city for Routes Asia 2019, a top air service development event that underscores the city’s growing profile in regional events sector.

According to Tourism Secretary, Bernadette Romulo Puyat, who heads up the host committee, 800 delegates and representatives from 100 airlines and 200 airports, plus 30 tourism authorities should attend.

Routes Asia 2019 will take place 10 to 12 March 2019 at The Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino.

Since Mactan International Airport’s second terminal opened in July last year, experts have been predicting Cebu’s economy will expand driven mainly by tourism.

In 2018, there was double-digit growth in terms of arrivals for both domestic and international passengers compared to the same period in 2017.

Data from airport showed there were 1.4 million foreign tourist arrivals in Cebu from January to September this year, which was a 22.76% increase from the 1.15 million arrivals record over the same period in 2017.

Domestic passenger arrivals at MCIA also rose by 7.61% from 2.6 million in 2017 to 2.8 million January-to-September 2018.

More Chinese tourists are expected in 2019. China has been the fastest growing tourist market for the region in the past two years, almost doubling from 250,000 arrivals in 2016 to 430,00 in 2017. It is believed that over 500,000 Chinese tourists visited Cebu and nearby destinations in 2018.

Department of Tourism regional director, Shalimar Tamano, described the opening of the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) Terminal II last July and the opening of Bohol Panglao International Airport (BPIA) last month as “game changers” for the region’s tourism industry.

“The opening of these two airports were the biggest news for the tourism sector in 2018. There have been no major incidents on security and safety and there are more flights (from) abroad,” he told Routes Asia.

Along with the growth in IT business process management and real estate sectors, the attractiveness of Cebu as a MICE destination has been credited with helping the local economy, with several big events due to take place this year. 

In addition, the Centre for Asia-Pacific Aviation conference will be hosted 24 to 25 June.

Cebu will also host an annual Ironman triathlon challenge, 11 August that should boost arrivals to the city.

Cebu recently opened Cebu Safari and Adventure Park a two to three hour drive from the city. It features “Asia’s longest zipline,” at 1.2 km long.

Cebu is likely to attract 6.5 million visits this year, including domestic and international visitors, compared with 6 million in 2018.

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