Stand on a surfboard in the oceans of Surigao. Unknown to many, the extreme sports of wave surfing has change the tourism landscape in Mindanao. From Siargao, General Luna and Lanuza down to Tandag, coastal towns and cities with hurdles of Speedo wearing adventurers ride the waves under the heat of the sun and at night simply stargazing with the elements of air from the breath of the Pacific Ocean.
Days ago, the CNNGO.com, came up with a No. 8 ranking for Surigao as the “world’s top 50 best surf spots”. A recognition that helps pumped the needed tourist receipts to the countryside.
As the sun dips out of sight, couples on the beach with Havaianas sandals and Project Rudy goggles splurges on San Miguel Light Beer and Barbecued Chicken making a leap of difference from what used to be a fisherman’s village.
Wave surfing take us to the next generation of world travelers with less cash on hand but carries a bundle of plastic credit cards to settle their holidays from their debit accounts in France, New Zealand, Australia or Japan.
These nations’ ranks among the loyal and regular new market niche for special interest groups attracted to the cocoon like waves.
We cannot wait for March till October having fun all summer long. Oceans, rivers and streams in the Philippines have all been touched by man. Stakeholders in Surigao are forewarned that development should be controlled as we learned a lesson in Boracay of overcrowding and stretching the island’s resources to the limit driving prices high.
It’s more fun, in the Philippines, if tourism is made simple and affordable. It’s even more fun if we prevent toothpaste and soap out in the oceans from turning into a bubble bath.
Surigao used to be a logging and wood processing coastal provinces. There are significant mineral deposits of iron ore and gold in Punta Tugas in Carrascal that according to the Mines and Geosciences Bureau is the largest in the hemisphere estimated to be three billion metric tons. That will turn the whole province upside down if allowed to be developed. God forbids a scenario of the remaining trees cut and uprooted bringing down chemical poisons floating out at sea threatening life on land. Mining footprint in Surigao has to be regulated.
Tourism initiatives in Surigao and the whole Caraga region is driven with enthusiasm and hard work by the diminutive Letty Db. Tan, the Regional Director of the Department of Tourism, Region 13. I have met the hard working lady who never gets tired of shuttling around the tourist destinations and the probable identified development area. She talks to investors and single handedly arrange business matching, a treat uncommon in the bureaucracy reaping rewards in terms of interests and growth in the region.
Arrivals in Surigao registered 145,739 in 2010, up from the previous year’s figure of 114, 324. For 2011, Surigao accounted 31.21% increase in arrivals with an estimated P4.372 Billion in tourist receipts as reported by the Office of the Governor, Gov. Sol Matugas. Resorts occupancies for a total of more than 600 rooms stood at 33.72%
Butuan City in Agusan del Norte which seats as the regional headquarter for all government agencies in Region 13, it is accessible daily by air from Manila with Cebu Pacific mounting three flights daily and one flight from Cebu City. Philippine Airlines and Air Express also have one flight each daily from Manila and Cebu. Another airport in Surigao City hosts various flights from Cebu and could land chartered Beach Craft or Q-400 type jet propelled air craft.
Recently down south, the private airport once operated by the Paper Industries Corporation of the Philippines (PICOP) in Bislig City in Surigao del Sur was activated to host a Cebu to Bislig flight of Mid Sea Air Express, a new player in the airline industry based in Cebu City.
On May 1-4, 2012, the Philippine Surfing Championship Tour will be launched in General Luna. The National Men’s Surfing Championship follows on May 5-9. By October, the 18th International Surfing Cup reels off with a bigger and larger contingents anticipated by the organizing committee. Marajao na pag-abut sa Surigao!
Ped T. Quiamjot is one of the brilliant columnists of a local newspaper in Cagayan de Oro City and currently the General Manager of Pryce Plaza Hotel Cagayan de Oro. His column talks on various issues and concerns affecting the business sector and tourism industry.
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