DEPARTMENT of Tourism (DOT) Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco graces the Congressman Duke Frasco Friendship Ride and Run event at the scenic Santiago Bay in Camotes Group of Islands in Cebu on Saturday (Sept. 2).
The event gathered some 1,000 cyclists and runners.
In her speech, the tourism chief emphasized the viability of Camotes Group of Islands as an ideal destination for sports tourism and also for cruise tourism.
“Sports tourism has a huge potential in our country because we have beautiful destinations in the Philippines where events can be held, including this long stretch of beach in San Francisco. Aside from this, we also have tourist attractions in the neighboring towns of Tudela, Poro, and Pilar. So through sports tourism we give our tourists, whether domestic or international, a chance to to discover Camotes,” she said in Cebuano, citing that under the Marcos administration, tourism development will be equal to all regions while mentioning that the DOT is expanding its cruise tourism portfolio next year to include ports of call in Cebu.
Frasco also thanked the participants of the event highlighting that their spending while they are on the island boosts the local economy, benefitting a wide array of tourism stakeholders including local hotels, vendors, suppliers, boatmen, transport operators and the like.
Meanwhile, other officials present during the local sports event gathering include Deputy Speaker Duke Frasco, DOT Undersecretary Ferdinand Jumapao, Cebu 5th District Board Member Mike Villamor, Mayors Alfred Arquillano (San Francisco), Gary Rama (Poro), Manuel Winky Santiago (Pilar), Greman Jojo Solante (Tudela), Aljew Frasco (Liloan), Vice Mayor Richard Streegan of Sogod, and other local government officials.