THE attention of most Dabawenyos will be riveted this week on Kadayawan, dubbed by its current organizers as the “King of Festivals,” a slight deviation from its previous sobriquet of “Festival of Festivals”.
Whatever, we should know by now that Kadayawan is definitely not much ado about nothing.
Started 25 years ago, the annual merrymaking is the Dabawenyos’ way of thanking the heavens for the abundance of harvests of their crops and other nature’s blessings as well as economic endeavors, much like how the tribal peoples of old expressed their gratitude to the anitos in the mountains. Through the years Kadayawan has metamorphosed from being a showcase of the unity of Dabawenyos –migrants and lumads alike- to a profitable enterprise. The festivities attract droves of tourists and conventionists to the city during the month of August, much like how the Araw ng Dabaw creates a ripple of economic activities every March to the delight of both the revelers and the big and small retailers, restaurateurs and other merchants who cater to them.
That festival-related activities disgorge a lot of money into Davao City’s economy is not an empty claim. A study conducted by the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) two years ago confirms that Kadayawan not only gives the city tremendous publicity, it also rakes in huge revenues in hotel occupancy, tours, patronage of food establishments and sale of souvenir items. The JICA study, done jointly with the Davao Industry Cluster Capacity Enhancement Project (DICCEP) of the Regional Development Council, looked into the behavior, length of stay and spending patterns of visitors who came to the city during Kadayawan.
Consider these findings:
–Majority of Kadayawan visitors were local tourists mostly coming from nearby cities and provinces, while only 20 percent were foreigners;
–Tourists usually stayed from three to five days in the city;
–More males (42 percent) spent more than P10,000 during their stay against females (37 percent) who spent between P7,000 and P10,000;
–Many visitors (70 percent of the males) were motivated to come because of the city’s “natural beauty”, beaches, food, shopping malls and “adventure;”
–70 percent of the visitors came with a companion, with the males coming with two or more adults, 39 percent came alone, 23 percent came with a child, with 23 of the females coming with family;
–44 percent of the visitors who answered the survey questions rated accommodation and restaurants service as excellent.
–Majority of the visitors planned to visit again and said they would recommend Davao to their friends when they go home.
There are many lessons to be learned from the study that could be used to fine-tune the festival and make it more attractive in the years to come. No doubt there is a need to maximize the benefits that would redound to Dabawenyos.
For now, it is safe to say that Kadayawan is an enterprise worth every Dabawenyo’s while.
