DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 22 Dec) – The Department of Tourism (DOT) 11 will set out a business mission to Singapore in the first quarter next year to further promote the different tourist destinations and local cuisine of the Davao Region.
This was revealed by DOT 11 director Roberto Alabado III during the launch of the 12-day “Summer in December” photo exhibit at the Park Inn Davao by Radisson Hotel.
He told reporters that they are now in the early stage of discussion on what activities they will take up in Singapore to entice the tourists there to go visit the region.
“We may be bringing a chef from Davao City who will prepare our delicacies for the tourists in Singapore, so that they will know what we have and we can offer to them,” he said.
He added that DOT 11 will partner with the private sector from the region to stage the business mission. Among them will be the tour operators who will do on-the-spot selling of tour packages.
During peak season like summer months, he said that the hotel and resort owners will usually offer big price drops from 20 to 40 percent because “we want them to experience Davao.”
Last December 17, the Lance Gokongwei-led Cebu Pacific launched its twice-weekly Davao City-Singapore flights, a move that is seen to further boost the region’s tourism destination.
Alabado said the region offers a fresh destination to the Singaporean market.
The city is also known as a gateway to the cities around the globe, which might encourage the tourists in Singapore to fly to Davao and explore its top destinations, he said.
Based on the data of DOT 11, tourist arrivals in the region totaled 1,874,587 from January to September 2015, which grew by 4.10 percent as compared to 1,800,726 of the same period last year.
Of the figure, domestic travelers were reported at 1,763,173, up by 4.3 percent as compared to 1,690,719 while foreign travelers reached 107,421, up by 2.5 percent from 104,809.
Davao City topped the list with most number of tourist arrivals with 411,124, followed by Davao del Norte with 147,848, Davao Oriental with 21,273, Davao Del Sur with 2,817, and Compostela Valley with 4,092 from January to September 2015.
To further promote the region’s tourism industry, a 12-day photo exhibit was put up to showcase the region’s top destinations. The exhibit features 27 images of adventure attractions and beach holiday destinations in the region.
The Talicud Island and other attractions like the camping site of Mt. Apo grace the exhibit.
