YOUTH FOR TOURISM
When the new wave takes over, expect a bunch that is rather fresh, creative and more proactive. And that’s exactly what this new team at the Capitol is, bringing with them fresh ideas to come up with tourism initiatives that are eco-friendly and sustainable.
The new team of the Cebu Provincial Tourism Office under the Office of the Governor is the youngest team in Capitol, and their ingenuity and new ideas tell us there are exciting times ahead for tourism in Cebu.
In this office, all facets of tourism and the stakeholders are considered, thanks to a great mix of creative individuals from different backgrounds—biology, environmental science, forestry, history, anthropology, business, fine arts, multimedia, tourism management, graphic design, hospitality management and engineering.
Following in the footsteps of his award-winning film maker brother Remton Zuasola, 24-year-old Razsil Zuasola believes that the visuals is an effective way of promoting tourism destinations, particularly the countryside.
“As a film maker, I want to show the people that outside Cebu City, there are other towns and places that have their own tourism activities. Cebu has a lot of undiscovered destinations; and through my lens, I would love to share these and show them to the people,” he said.
For terrestrial researcher Marga, her vision of a vibrant tourism sector is one that is sustainable. “I have a great vision for tourism here in Cebu. There’s so much that we can offer. I love to see tourists in awe of the kind of tourism that benefits not just the locals but also our environment, which is more important,” she shared.
Angelo Aniola, 28, who recently came back from Manila to work as the team’s writer, shared his newfound joy in working with young and talented individuals in government in developing the endless tourism opportunities in Cebu.
“There’s a misconception that government employees are lax and take their jobs lightly, and that is not how we work here in the tourism office. High-quality output is priority. We give value to what the government pays us. We work with excitement and passion. Our cultural and history researchers endlessly interview and collect facts in communities during their cultural mapping; our licensed foresters and biologists do their job with scientific back-up, our graphic artists and video editors are creative geniuses; Our administrators, who have been working in Capitol for years, have also been very supportive of the new team,” he said.
Aileen, the young history and cultural researcher, has a message to his fellow youth. “The youth should show appreciation of our heritage sites, since these have been part of Cebu’s history. I encourage my fellow young Cebuanos to give importance to our heritage sites and history because these things make Cebu a popular tourist destination. Let’s not take it for granted.”
The newest addition to the team is 21-year-old Sheena Verallo, a graduate of the University of Asia and the Pacific, who decided to pursue her interest in history and culture.
“I decided to come back to Cebu because I love the history, culture and the society here. My professor in university helped me finalize my decision to come back by helping me realize that, despite what most people from Manila think, staying away from the metropolitan hub of Luzon is exciting and so important to me and my identity as a Cebuana. I was also driven by the knowledge of the importance of local history in the grand narrative of our nation, and I would like to help discover this by working with a team that also sees this importance, and works hard to contribute to it,” Sheena said.
Under the direction of ecotourism advocate Joselito “Boboi” Costas, the Cebu Provincial Tourism Office, also known as Sugbu Turismo, has celebrated tourism with a line-up of initiatives.
Just recently, they successfully organized “Celebrating the Local,” which helped promote the different local government units in the province, and “Eats Meets West” a culinary competition in Argao that aimed to discover new dishes that are proudly Cebuano.
The office is now busy with the upcoming Mga Huni Sa Pasko, the Sinulog Festival, Suroy Suroy Sugbo and the usual eco-tourism projects of the different towns. To know more about the upcoming activities of Sugbu Turismo, visit their Facebook page at facebook.com/sugbuturismoPH.