DAVAO CITY, Philippines – Davao City’s tourism has been steadily increasing after the pandemic, but can it offer more places to visit aside from Kadayawan and other events?
This is a question raised by tourism officials in the city, as they target 2.5 million local and foreign tourists to visit the city this year, which is almost double the 1.8 million tourists that came to Davao in 2024.
One concern raised by Davao Travel Agents Association President Gian Caguiat was how things stagnated for the city’s tourism through the past years, and the tourist attraction was not because of not because of the local destinations.
“In 2018 and 2019, the tourist spot was not a spot; it was a person. It was President (Rodrigo) Duterte, right? We should accept that,” Caguiat said during a press conference a week ago.
“After that, our improvements in Davao have stagnated, meaning we no longer have new tourist destinations. If we say malls, they have them there too, so the question is, as much as we want to sell Davao City, is there anything that we can offer to entice tourists to come here?” he explained.
Need for development
Caguiat is worried that the city will be left behind in the tourism industry unless owners of existing city tourism destinations develop their spots to be more competitive in the market.
Aside from the usual festivals such as Kadayawan, Araw ng Dabaw and Pasko Festival, and the hosting of national meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE), he suggests the city government should give incentives to the private sector for them to invest in Davao.
City Tourism Operations Office (CTOO) Head Jennifer Romero acknowledged the need to review their plans for MICE incentives, such as boosting the city’s cultural aspects and deploying reception staff for these events.
“While we don’t want to change our approach completely, we recognize the need to reinvent our strategies to promote new destinations in Davao City,” Romero stated.
Among the four major events of the city, the Kadayawan Festival in August drew the largest number of visitors at 190,068, followed by Pasko Festival, with 178,555 visitors.
Eco-Tourism Destinations
The city government is eyeing to open four eco-tourism destinations in Marilog and Paquibato districts with destinations to its waterfalls and caves ideal for trekking.
These destinations are being eyed to open this year upon completion of validations from the indigenous people, the barangay council, and other concerned government agencies.
The city government will also be building facilities and infrastructure in those potential tourist spots to promote development in those areas and improve the tourism industry.
“These are not resorts, but destinations, located in ancestral domain areas in Marilog and Paquibato. The mayor said that we should address the issues and concerns in the perimeters first before allowing people to visit,” said Councilor Al Ryan Alejandre.
Alejandre said another proposal from the city government is to build a theme park in Marilog District. The project may come in the form of a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) as part of the city Tourism Development Plan.
“There is a proposal for a park like Disneyland in Hong Kong, and the mayor (Sebastian Duterte) has approved it as long as a premium is given to the indigenous peoples. When we say premium, it means their share,” he said.(davaotoday.com)
