By Perla Lena/PNA
ILOILO CITY — In anticipation of more cruise ships visiting Iloilo, the mayor of this highly-urbanized city deemed it necessary to have a terminal to accommodate cruise ships at the Iloilo Fort San Pedro.
“We are planning to have a cruise ship terminal here at Fort San Pedro,” Iloilo City Mayor Jose Espinosa III said in a follow-up interview on Thursday, adding that there has been a big improvement at the port.
The mayor was optimistic that the maiden visit of the MV Pacific Venus of Japan last January 26 to 27 will attract more cruise ships to this city, which is a port city similar to Yokohama and Osaka in Japan.
Espinosa, during the visit of the cruise ship, gave Captain Matsuya Mitsui a symbolic key of this city as a gesture that this local government is always welcoming of visitors.
“I hope more cruise ship will be coming because I invited the captain of the cruise ship. It would be a big help if they could relay the message to other cruise ships that our city is a good place to visit,” he said.
The cruise ship docked at the Iloilo Commercial Port Complex in Loboc-Lapuz, which is intended for cargo ships. Nonetheless, the mayor requested the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) if they can improve the docking facility of the Loboc Port.
In a previous interview, City Tourism and Development Officer Junel Ann Divinagracia said that the agent that facilitated the visit of MV Pacific Venus to Iloilo was talking with a cruise ship with a passenger capacity of 1,700 for a possible visit.
“Hopefully it will be realized this year,” she said, adding that a special performance of the Dinagyang Festival tribe will be prepared just for them.
