TWO days after a powerful 6.7-magnitude earthquake struck Surigao City, tourists in the city were reported to be safe and accounted for.
To the north, resorts in the popular resort island of Siargao also reported their guests as unaffected by the earthquake.
As of February 11, the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Center in Caraga (Region 13) reported six dead and 112 injured.
The Surigao City Airport, a gateway to Siargao and jump-off point to other ecotourist areas in the Caraga region, will be closed for repairs for a month. As such, PAL Express flights 2P 2095 (Manila-Surigao) and 2P 2096 (Surigao-Manila), as well as Cebu Pacific flights to and from Surigao City are suspended from February 11 to March 10, according to a travel advisory issued by the Department of Tourism (DOT).
The DOT Office of Public Affairs also reported “two tourism accommodations facilities were badly damaged. Others sustained slight structural damages” in Surigao City. The report, a copy of which was obtained by the BusinessMirror, did not name the damaged hotels.
The report indicated that 10 guests checked in at Jec Pension House “were confirmed safe and are properly accounted for.” At Parkway Hotel, “all 32 guests, including one foreigner, were safely transferred to other hotels and private residences, according to the hotel manager.”
It added that the seven-story Tavern Hotel and its four-story annex “sustained minor structural damages. None were injured. All guests are safe and accounted for.” The report was silent, however, on the number of guests at said hotel.
Meanwhile, resorts and guests on Siargao Island, known as the Surfing Capital of the Philippines, were basically unaffected by Friday’s earthquake in Surigao City.
In an interview with the BusinessMirror, Chris (last name not given), the manager of Buddha’s Surf Resort, one of the highly-rated resorts on the island said: “we felt a slight tremor but no damage occurred. All our guests felt it but they’re still hanging out, or out surfing.”
While February doesn’t fall in the usual surfing season in Siargao, “we still get a lot of waves; it just depends on the wind.” He said the resort is now registering 90-percent occupancy.
For her part, Estella Poitiers, manager of Siargao Inn, another top-rated resort on the island, said: “We did feel the quake, but it was not particularly alarming and none of our guests considered to leave just because of that. Our guests are doing fine.”
She reported a 90-percent occupancy at the resort, as well. The surfing season on Siargao is from May to October.
A manager at an upscale international resort on Siargao said their guests were also unaffected by the earthquake that hit Surigao City. “We felt it, but nothing happened. There was no problem.” She asked, however, that the resort’s name not be published.
Many of the tourists in Siargao fly directly to the island’s Sayak Airport via Cebu Pacific’s Cebu-Siargao daily flights. As of Sunday, operations at said airport were normal.
In 2015 the Caraga region recorded 1.14 million visitor arrivals, of which, Surigao del Norte, including Siargao, accounted for 145,950 arrivals, including foreign tourists. This was 19.25 percent higher than the arrivals in 2014. Siargao alone has been posting a 10-percent increase in visitors since 2013, according to published reports. Surigao City itself recorded 272,863 visitor arrivals in 2015 up 11.35 percent from 2014, latest DOT data show.
In a statement issued on Saturday, the DOT said “[it] has made available all its resources to provide for and assist in [the tourists’] immediate needs.”
The agency expressed its deepest concerns to those who were affected by the earthquake and enjoined “potential travelers and those already in the country [to] check with DOT overseas and regional offices for updates of travel situations in affected areas.”
It assured travelers that it “will provide all the support necessary to help the tourism sector in the said destinations to recover and rebuild and remain to be one of the country’s key tourist haven.” PAL President Jaime Bautista said passengers from Surigao City “can take our flights out of Butuan.” Added airline Spokesman Cielo Villaluna, “We are providing rebooking/rerouting with waivers of fees/charges, as well as full refunding.” (https://bit.ly/2kjE9BP)
Region 13, known as Caraga, was created in 1995, which includes Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Surigao del Norte, Surigao del Sur and Dinagat Islands. Surigao City, where the earthquake struck, is the capital of Surigao del Norte.