Ironman snub to put Cebu in bad light
As organizers scramble to find hosts to the biking course of this year’s Regent Aguila Ironman 70.3 Philippines-Asia-Pacific Championships, a group of tour operators has warned that cancelling the triathlon competition may leave a bad impression on Cebu.
Alice Queblatin, president of Cebu Association for Tour Operators (CATOS), said if the event will be withdrawn at the last minute, the move will not only damage the reputation of local organizers but also cause losses among other stakeholders.
“It will leave a negative impression for Cebu and the organizers because they gave them the assurance that the event will be held here,” she told The FREEMAN in a phone interview yesterday, pointing out that the preregistration has begun.
Queblatin said if the global owners of Ironman race decide to withdraw, a lot of other industries in tourism will be affected.
“That includes cancellation of bookings at local hotels, refunding of registration fees, and pacifying the participants and other parties,” she said.
As of yesterday, organizers were drafting a new proposal to the municipal government of Liloan, which on Thursday did not agree to their first proposal to have the town’s two main roads closed fully for eight hours to accommodate the triathletes.
Nevertheless, Princess Galura, general manager of Sunrise Events Inc. that is organizing the event, said they will exhaust all means to ensure the competition will push through.
Last week, Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña decided to shut the Cebu South Coastal Road (CSCR) to the Ironman race as it is the only major thoroughfare linking north and south Cebu at the moment with the closure of N. Bacalso Avenue where an underpass is being constructed.
In turn, organizers have decided to divert the biking course of the triathlon to northern Cebu and so far, the local government units of Consolacion, Compostela, Danao City, and Carmen have expressed willingness to support Ironman.
Liloan turned down the proposal, citing mobility problems of the town’s roads are closed.
The mayors of the first four northern LGUs are either from Bakud or Liberal Party, which formed a coalition back in 2012.
Governor Hilario Davide III belongs to the LP while Vice Governor Magpale is from Bakud.
Liloan Mayor Christina Garcia-Frasco is from 1Cebu, the party of Deputy Speaker and former governor Gwendolyn Garcia.
Asked if she thought the Ironman race has been politicized, Queblatin said she has not considered the thought since both Cebu City and Liloan have legitimate reasons for their disapproval.
“Tourism should not be at the expense of the citizenry,” she said.
However, Queblatin said the hosting of Ironman will be a major boost to Cebu’s efforts in developing sports tourism, which part of leisure tourism that includes visiting ecotourism destinations and trying out local adventures.
Sought for comment, Cebu provincial administrator Mark Tolentino said the provincial government will wait for the word from Sunrise Events after it has presented an alternative proposal to Liloan.
Sunrise Events did not reveal details about their new proposal yesterday to avoid it being pre-empted.
Magpale earlier suggested to organizers to check the possibility of using the Talamban, Cebu City road, which leads straight to Compostela. This way, the athletes can go to the north without passing through Liloan.