Stakeholders await delayed master plan
The festival season has started after Vice Mayor Sebastian Duterte banged the gong on Friday to signal the opening of the Kadayawan sa Dabaw.
The festival, which serves as the thanksgiving of the city to its 11 tribes, is also known to attract visitors to the city.
And the hotel industry, the main accommodation sub-sector of the tourism sector. Is expected to make a killing. Regina Rosa D. Tecson, head of the City Tourism Operations Office, said that it is this time of the year when the accommodation facilities usually have an occupancy factor above of 90%.
Hotel revenues, said Tecson, are even expected to increase because the city government decided to prolong the celebration to a month instead of just a week.
“We want our visitors to enjoy the sights and sounds of the festival,” she added.
Because of the annual festival, the city government believes it could achieve its target of three million tourists as, based on its report, the number of tourists during the first six months of the year was about 1.2 million, 8.6% higher than the number during the same period last year.
Hotelier Benjamen J. Banzon Jr., manager of the Royal Mandaya Hotel, confirmed that it is in the third quarter when establishments like this usually make the best business.
“Kadayawan is one of those times when we (hotels) are really full,” said Banzon.
However, he said the industry must also try to improve itself by both expanding and renovating its facilities like the hotels.
In the case pf the Royal Mandaya Hotel, the owners, the Escandor family, are spending about P50 million to renovate its facilities and add more amenities. Among the key parts of the capital expenditure is the renovation of the hotel’s swimming pool.
Tecson welcomed the move of the hotel to enhance its offerings to tourists as this will allow the latter to have a better experience during their visit.
“Tourists always look for better service for them to consider coming back,” she said.
In this way, the hotel sub-sector will continue to gain from the festival and other activities that are expected to draw more tourists to the city.
