DOTC sees 1.5M foreign tourists in Bicol by 2016

Hopeful for an upward trend in the tourism industry with more and more foreign tourists preferring local travels, the Department of Tourism (DOT) Regional Office is envisioning a maximum target of 1.5M foreign tourists all over the globe to flock in various part of the Bicol Region by 2016.

This optimistic outlook is also based on the tourism blue print prepared by the Albay Masbate Sorsogon Tourism Alliance (ALMASORTA) in response to the influx of tourists in the six (6) provinces of the region during the past years.
ALMASORTA is a brainchild of the Regional Development Council Chairman and Albay Governor Joey Salceda.

DOT Regional Director Maria “Nini” Ong-Ravanilla(left photo) said that the alliance is a perfect approach to strengthen the programs of the tourism department.

“This partnership is an approach of the provincial government of Albay to compliment the respective marketing packages of Sorsogon and Masbate to entice more tourists, both foreign and domestic to come and visit us here in the region with Albay serving as the gateway to these two provinces and their neighboring areas,” Ravanilla stated.

Ravanilla also said that each province will have their respective strategies to highlight their tourist potentials and promote their respective destinations to visiting tourists.

Some of the destinations included in the recommended itinerary of DOT consist of a stop over at the historic Mayon Volcano, a walk at the Cagsawa Ruins and an adventure in the various caves of Albay, a visit at the Wild Parkl Lignon Hill, Boulevard, Misibis and the Tiwi Geothermal.

“After the fun-filled day in Albay, those tourists can proceed in Donsol, Sorsogon and have an interaction with the friendly “butandings” or whale sharks or chose to trek at Bulusan Volcano. From there, they may opt to try the route going to Masbate passing through Pilar, Sorsogon. In Masbate, tourists can drop by in Bontod, a fish and mantra ray sanctuary in the said province.

Base on the records, domestic and foreign tourists’ arrival in Bicol in 2011 reached 3,413,610. DOT records showed that Albay-Legazpi accounted for the 350,629 arrivals while Masbate has reached a total number of visitors at 172,446 and Sorsogon with 132, 692 tourists’ arrival.

Base on its projection, the Philippine Department of Tourism is envisioning an approximate of 10M foreign tourists by 2016. ALMASOR also pegged their numbers at more or less 625,000 arrivals with Albay having a bigger share of 500 ,000; Sorsogon with 100,000 and Masbate with 25,000 foreign tourists come 2016.