BACOLOD CITY — The Department of Tourism (DOT) in Western Visayas will conduct a two-day inspection of the Bacolod-Sipaway-San Carlos cruise tourism circuit in Negros Occidental on July 19 to 20.
DOT-Western Visayas Regional Administrative Officer Artemio Ticar said the agency needs to determine if the circuit is ready to cater to tourists.
“Through the inspection, we can also identify the areas that need improvement, and recommendations on how to address these deficiencies can also be crafted,” he said.
DOT-6 Regional Director Helen Catalbas will lead the activity. She will be joined by tourism development area managers, tour operators, tour guides, media representatives, and social media influencers, as well as representatives of various concerned agencies such as the Philippine Ports Authority and the Maritime Industry Authority.
On Thursday, the Bacolod-Sipaway-San Carlos circuit inspection will start from Bredco Port in Bacolod City to The Ruins in Talisay City. Other sites include the Museo Pambata, Suyac Island, and Carbin Reef in Sagay City.
Ticar said the port in Sagay will also be inspected to see if it has the capacity to cater to a group of 250 tourists.
A visit at the monkey sanctuary in Calatrava town will be scheduled before the team proceeds to San Carlos City for dinner and critiquing session.
On the second day, the team will proceed to Sipaway Island, also in San Carlos City.
The DOT-6 has been pushing for the development of Western Visayas as a cruise tourism destination and has identified six cruise circuits in the region.
These include the Northern Antique, Roxas-Capiz, Northern Iloilo, Iloilo-Guimaras, Bacolod-Sipaway-San Carlos, and Bacolod-Sipalay circuits.
Ticar said DOT-6 will initially push for small-scale cruise tourism by utilizing vessels with 250-tourist capacity.
“Based on our inspections in other circuits, our itineraries are already ready to sell. We only need to do minor improvements,” he added.
He said the cruise tourism operation in Western Visayas is targeted to start in the last quarter of the year.
The cruise tourism package includes visits to different tourism destinations in every circuit.
“The tourists will not just stay on the ship. They will really have to travel by land to have a first-hand experience of our offerings,” Ticar said. (Erwin Nicavera/PNA)
