Camotes, Malapascua gain popularity among nature, adventure enthusiasts

ISLAND hopping in Camotes and Malapascua islands is gaining popularity among tourists all-year.

Alice Queblatin, Tourism Congress Visayas vice president for travel and tours, said the two islands are in-demand destinations in Cebu, as a new generation of foreign tourists continue to look for new and “exotic” places to explore.

“Aside from SuroySuroy Sugbo, we now see increasing tour requests for Camotes and Malapascua all year-round,” said Queblatin.

The recent recognition of Cebu as among the five Best Islands in the World has strengthened Cebu’s position as a must-see destination, especially among tourists who are into nature and adventure tourism.

Condè Nast described Cebu as “not as wild” as Phuket in Thailand and “more personal, with plenty of up-and-coming restaurants and shopping.”

“Cebu is famous for its beaches on the mainland as well as across many of the surrounding islands,” the international travel magazine said. It suggested a visit to Camotes Islands “to get a true taste of island life.”

Tetta Baad, chairperson of Balik Cebu Committee, said Camotes Island has “improved a thousand percent” in terms of room availability, tourism products to showcase and other support infrastructure like sea transport.

Malapascua, on the other hand, has remained an interesting destination for diving enthusiasts.

The Department of Tourism 7 has conducted product audit and assessment in selected sites within Camotes Island man- grove swamp forest reserve, product development for stakeholders of eco-tourism sites in the region, tourism planning for LGUs in Bohol, data gathering and market profiling for LGUs, and ecoguiding seminar for naturebased activities such as trekking, spelunking, and bird watching.

The DOT 7 expects a more vibrant tourism industry this year, on the back of the big-ticket events like the Miss Universe pageant and the ASEAN@50, which will showcase the different attractions of the province.