By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo / Special to the BusinessMirror
DAVAO CITY, a prime tourism destination in Mindanao, has reported losses reaching P20 million from the cancellations of bookings in hotel rooms and event spaces, due
to the declaration of martial law in Mindanao.
In a text message to the BusinessMirror, GeneRose Tecson, Davao City’s provincial tourism officer, said: “During our meeting last Saturday, May 27, with various leaders from Davao’s tourism industry, the hotels and convention venues pegged revenue losses at P20 million due to cancellations of hotel rooms and events.”
She added, “the bigger hotels, of course, experienced more cancellations because their clientele comes from outside Mindanao. But we are hoping that these cancellations convert into rebookings once the situation has normalized.”
She said the cancellations were from domestic travelers, Koreans and some Japanese. “But we have had people calling our office from all over the world asking about the situation in Davao, which, of course, is business as usual.”
Tecson believes the situation will improve soon: “We are expecting a group of no less than 50 pax from the local government of Nanning, China, from June 8 to 10. They will be holding a trade and cultural show on June 9.” She stressed that, despite the martial- law declaration in Mindanao, the group has not canceled its trip.
This developed as the Department of Tourism (DOT) on Wednesday expressed confidence that the industry will be able to withstand the current adverse impact of the martial-law declaration in Mindanao and rebound when the situation has settled.
The agency is also working on informing foreign tourists of alternative destinations to Mindanao, according to its news statement.
“This is just a temporary setback,” said Tourism Secretary Wanda Corazon T. Teo as she met with industry stakeholders at the DOT office on Monday. “We express full confidence in our Armed Forces of the Philippines [AFP] and Philippine National Police [PNP] to completely return Marawi City to normalcy.”
Clashes between government troops and the Maute Group, a rebel group said to have some ties to Islamic jihadists, are ongoing in Marawi City despite President Duterte’s declaration of martial law in Mindanao. Martial law was declared on May 23, after the government troops’ operation to extract Isnilon Hapilon, who heads the Abu Sayyaf, from Marawi City was foiled.
Resorts even in Cebu, and local carriers reported to the DOT cancellations in bookings by foreign tourists. (See, “Tourism industry hit by martial-law declaration” in the BusinessMirror, May 30, 2017.)
On his part, Jay Aldeguer, president and CEO of Cebu-based The Islands Group, which has hotels in Cebu and Palawan, said: “So far the effect of martial law has not yet taken place yet on the retail side. Our hotels have not had cancellations except for a couple in Palawan. So far, only our Davao outlet [Island Souvenirs] has seen a drop in sales. Most travelers may have already arrived, therefore, the minimal effect.”
But he added, “We do, however, see some effect in the coming months due to the reported cancellations of hotels and resorts. If this goes on for more than a month, two things can happen; either it continues to make headlines and scare travelers off or people forget there is a crisis going on in an isolated part of the country. Sadly there has been so many of terror incidents all over the world that people are beginning to accept and are moving on quicker. If this happens, then the tourism industry won’t be as affected.”
The DOT has tried to remain optimistic in the face of the cancellations of hotel and resort bookings. “Although cancellations have been reported, we want to inform our visitors of the wide selection of alternative destinations in Mindanao and elsewhere in the country,” Teo said.
She reiterated that Mindanao can recover and regain its visitors, citing Davao City’s tourist arrivals of 459,104 for the first quarter of 2017, which is 13-percent higher from the same period last year. The DOT projects visitor arrivals in Region 12 (Davao region) to reach 3.7 million this year. (See, “Duterte phenomenon seen lifting Tourist arrivals in Davao,” in the BusinessMirror,” May 1, 2017.)
Image credits: DOT Photo
