Event organizers anticipate an influx of tourists as all preparations have been set for the May 19-21 Sarangani Bay Festival.
“Last year, we had 20,000 guests and we are expecting a lot more this time,” Governor Migs Dominguez told a press conference Wednesday (May 11).
The Sarangani Bay Festival will be celebrated along the white-sand beach resorts in Gumasa which Glan is known for.
Sarangani investment officer-in-charge Milbie Guiang-Daguro reported tourist arrivals have been notably increasing every year and the resort industry was expanding to accommodate the influx of tourists, especially during the festival.
This is where the “return of investments” in the tourism sector is always keenly anticipated by the DOT.
Sarangani tourism officer-in-charge Taqna Sumajit said there will be enough room to host the activity, even up to 30,000 arrivals.
She said, “as of March, room accommodations in resorts in Gumasa, Glan were mostly fully booked.” However, resort operators have set up tent areas to accommodate more people—just in case.
Dominguez said this means that Sarangani has been successful in its promotion of making the province a tourism destination apart from turning Glan into “the convention destination for Mindanao in the future.”
Glan will be hosting the First National Mango Congress in September.
The governor said the challenge for Sarangani from the very beginning has been “to market and put (our) best foot forward” where he identified Gumasa as Sarangani’s best foot, especially when it comes to summer activities.
“We have witnessed the growth of Sarangani towards the development of its tourism industry,” he said, referring to the provincial government’s investment efforts to eventually gain the support of the private sector.
“At least we can proudly say that our partnership with the private sector has indeed blossomed in a short span of time,” he said.
Dominguez said the role of the provincial government is to “provide necessary the venue and atmosphere where investments can prosper”—by which Sarangani has been reaping the gains of becoming not only a destination for tourists, but also for investors as well. [Beverly Paoyon/Sarangani Information Office]
