Mati City Mayor Carlo Rabat is looking at more open spaces in the city.
“We need more open spaces in the city.” Mayor Rabat said during a press conference held in Dahican, Mati City with visiting Ateneo de Davao Mass Communication students undergoing advance journalism class.
The Mayor says that the beach area would have identified open spaces, where there is a portion of the property set aside as a beach area forming part of the tourism zone.
Mati is famed for its Dahican Beach, a a seven kilometer stretch of white-sand coastline which has attracted tourists from all over the world.
More open spaces is part of the city’s plans to attract more tourists to the city. From 2015 to 2016, the city saw a spike of 115% in tourism arrivals. Last year the city had 107,945 tourists, in 2015 the city recorded 50,000 tourists.
Aside from domestic tourists, foreign tourists were coming from Japan, Australia, South Korea and China.
City Tourism Officer Arlene Llamada credits the increase of tourist arrivals to infrastructure projects like new roads which made the destinations like Dahican very accessible.
Mayor Rabat also credited social media promotions as keys to the resurgence of tourism. “We have the I Love Mati Facebook account and the Mati website which people can access in the internet.”
The Mayor also said they are encouraging big activities like sporting events as a way of marketing the city.
This March, the city will be hosting the Davao Region Athletic Association (DAVRAA) meet.
The month of April will also be the annual Summerfrolic music and party event in Dahican where the countrys top DJs will be headlining the massive beach party.
Aside from Dahican, Mati City hosts other noteworthy tourism destinations, among these include the Mati Baywalk Park, the Subangan Museum, the Waniban and Pujada Islands, ultralight flying at the Mati Airport and the Guang-Guang Mangrove Sanctuary. (PIA/RG Alama)
