Cebu as Korean magnet: ‘Seoul of the Philippines’

Cebu may have to welcome its new moniker as the "Seoul of the Philippines."

The reason being? The Queen City of the South continues to draw visitors from South Korea, says the Department of Tourism.

DOT noted Cebu welcomes more and more Korean visitors looking for relaxation and recreation.

Tourism officials attributed the continued rising influx of Koreans to Cebu’s richly-diverse tourist attractions, worldclass beach resorts, exotic cultural festivities, wellpreserved historical sites and authentic Filipino cuisine.

DOT regional director Shalimar Hofer Tamano also cited the peace and order situation, improved air connectivity and the well-known Filipino hospitality boosting Cebu tourism's boom.

“Like what Secretary Wanda Teo says, more than anything else, it’s the unique and genuine Filipino hospitality and the Cebuano charm that attract Koreans, Japanese and Chinese visitors to the region,” Tamano said.

He recently met with officials of the Korean Consulate and members of the Korea Travel Agencies Association (KOTAA).

During his meeting with Korean Consul-General Oh Sung-Yong, Tamano assured the sector's constant coordination with the Philippine National Police (PNP) and military authorities to ensure the safety of the increasing number of Korean visitors particularly in the provincial capital Cebu City.

Tamano said the DOTSeoul Office continues to promote Cebu and other Philippine destinations particularly at the annual Korea Travel Fair (KOTFA).

In 2016, Tamano said over 840,000 tourists from South Korea arrived in the region, mostly staying in Cebu’s islands including Bantayan, Mactan, Camotes, Oslob and Malapascua, as well as Cebu City, known as the Philippines' cradle of Christianity.

Tamano said projected that Korean arrivals in the province might have reached one million last year. DOT has yet to release full-year tourist arrival data.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if Cebu would soon be known as Seoul of the Philippines, Koreans' home away from home,” he said.

The tourism official also noted that DOT’s promotion of eco-agrifaith tourism has attracted foreign, balikbayan and local visitors.

“This year’s Sinulog festival alone drew hundreds of thousands of international and domestic tourists into Cebu City,” said Tamano.

DOT data had shown tourist arrivals in Central Visayas hit 2.98 million in the first half of 2017. Of the total,2.25 million came to Cebu, followed by 400,905 in Negros Oriental, 285,484 in Bohol and 54,353 in Siquijor.

The region’s top five foreign markets in terms of tourist volume for the said period are Korea (402,858), Japan (183,644), China (171,197), USA (106,075) and Australia (32,396).

Arrivals from Korea, Japan and China posted positive growth at 2.31 percent, 2.82 percent and 55.54 percent, respectively.