Davao Travel Agencies Association, Inc. (DTAAI) president Gian Caguiat recommended to the City Tourism Operations Office (CTOO) on Wednesday to create a city streets tour activity in the Davao City’s downtown area particularly along vicinity of San Pedro Street as it could help attract more tourists, specially young travelers.
Caguiat said that providing tourists with an immersive, personal experience of a place and enabling them to interact fully with the local environment, history, and culture on board an AC jeep may help boost tourism in the city.
“Kasi I’ve learned itong mga tour guides natin, yung San Pedro walking street there’s the cathedral, why don’t they discuss the great fire of 1960s, yung in between Anda and San Pedro, di ba? City Tourism if you are listening meron akong advise sa inyo, why don’t you do a city tour onboard an authentic AC jeep? The 8-seater AC jeep. Wala pa lang AC jeep sa ibang locals nasa Davao lang. They can roam around Davao City onboard an AC jeep. Maganda yan,” Caguiat said during Wednesdays @ Habi at Kape media forum.
Caguiat said young travelers love walking tours. Aside from San Pedro St., he said the streets of Magallanes to Claveria are ideal for this kind of activity also.
“Mga young ones daw na travelers itong mahilig sa walking tour because they want to know the old downtown, yung center ng city. Yung Magallanes all the way to Claveria, yung roads na yan para hindi na sila pumunta, yung city natin i-present natin like this is where the first escalator of Davao was, yung mga ganon. Alam ito ng tour guides but I don’t know how they would. I would render my services to them if they need me,” he said.
Caguiat added that walking tours can provide tourists with a more authentic feel of the place.
“Kasi meron daw nagpapa walking tour talaga. So, why not do it in an authentic Dabawenyo way?” he said.
