This Week in Cebu (January 26 to February 1, 2020)

The week will start on the right foot as the sun shines brightly over the Queen City of the South. The sunny weather will continue on Monday, but a short morning shower is expected. This generally clear weather will continue until Thursday with instances of passing showers in the morning and clouds in the afternoon. However, things will be slightly different on the weekend as the city will experience cloudy weather and spots of rain in the morning and afternoon. Temperatures in Cebu for the week will be between 23 °C and 32 °C [1].

Last January 19, President Rodrigo Duterte promised to look for funds to solve the traffic problem in Cebu. The commitment was made during his visit at the Cebu City Sports Center for the Sinulog celebration. Since Cebu is an old city, road expansion is not feasible. He added that roads in Cebu were already built before the government was established. Due to this, building a railway or a skyway is the most viable solution for the traffic problem in Metro Cebu, according to the president. He added that he may take out a loan from other countries to help fund the project [2].

President Rodrigo Duterte led the inauguration of the newly-renovated Terminal 1 of Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) on January 19. Department of Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade and the stakeholders of the MCIA joined the president. The renovated terminal is expected to increase the capacity of the airport from eight million passengers every year to 11 million. On the other hand, Terminal 2 can accommodate up to 4.1 million passengers annually. Terminal 2 caters to international flights [3].

A total of 24 hotels in Cebu were included in the 11th Agoda Gold Circle Award for 2019. The full list was announced through the website of the international hotel and rental booking website on January 6, 2020. The Cebu hotels in the list include Bluewater Maribago Beach Resort, Cebu White Sands Resort and Spa, Waterfront Cebu City Hotel, Diamond Suites and Residences, and The Henry Hotel, among others. With the 1,900 hotels in the list, 152 Philippine hotels were awarded by Agoda. The criteria for selection focused on superior service, peer-to-peer reviews, availability, and pricing. For 2019, Agoda included participation in its Agoda Private Sales in its criteria [4].

Local travel operators want Cebu to become an experiential destination rather than just a place where tourists can see the sights. This move comes amid expected high expectations among tourists since Cebu is among the top destinations in the world. Alice Queblatin, president of the Cebu Alliance of Tour Operations Specialists (CATOS), said private and public stakeholders should seriously consider living up to the reputation of Cebu. She said the positive impression of visitors should be sustained until they leave. Experiential travel should be emphasized; this entails letting tourists focus on spending on their experience rather than simply buying products in Cebu [5].

Go to Yoorekka to discover awesome things to do while in Cebu!