Catanduanes Forum

JOM show case approach is well attainable as our Puraran can well compete with the best surfing places of the world. The remoteness and prestiness of our island is another added attraction. Many times i have seen foreigners with their motorcycles negotiating our dirt road going to puraran. I know they enjoy the adventure in our island as they came with their families. Father and son with dirt bikes in the mud road of Agban is a surprise scene to see and they are foreigners. With an island like Panay that hides so much beauty we can develop Panay island as another Galapagos with its wildlife good for snorkeling
and scuba dives. What about fishing for malasugi and barracuda? We knew so many foreigners who came to our island were enchanted to the natural beauty of our land and sea. JOM can be good sales manager for our island tourism promotion.

i think the tourism council of catanduanes should start getting creative. i mean, they only focus their attention on the catandungan festival, which they even fail to make more exciting. frankly, if i weren't from catanduanes, i would not even think of going to the catandungan festival. on the other hand, while the gay festival may be interesting, its not really a good tourism activity...not because we're sexists in CF but because gay festivals happen in EVERY province in the country. Gays are talented but they're not all in Catanduanes...they are COMMON.

the council should learn how to effectively sell the festival and most importantly, the province...find a strength...take stock of what it already has. they should travel the whole island every month....do an immersion. we have a really BEAUTIFUL coastline...as in new zealand BEAUTIFUl when you go to Tabugok. for those of you who have no i dea where Tabugok is at the northernmost tip of catanduanes...near Pandan...and it is just BREATHTAKING. yung iniisip ko nung nagpunta ako, pwedeng mag-attract yung site na yun ng filmmakers....sayang.

a few years ago, the WOW Philippines program of the DOT created tarpaulins of tourism places all over the country. Bohol had its chocolate hills in its tarpaulin, albay had mayon volcano, davao had its fruits, aklan had the ati-atihan festival, etc. you know what the picture was for catanduanes? farmers planting rice...how exciting is that?! geez. another example, i got hold of a DOT brochure a few years ago. the brochure, of course, highlighted the different tourist spots in the country (i think per province pa ito) complete with activities and addresses of known establishments. while the brochure is one of the best things the DOT can come up with for the local tourism industry, i found just one flaw. Catanduanes was not in the list. so, what did the tourism council do? where were they? its their job to SELL the province but by not pushing for the inclusion of the province in these things, they just underscored the fact that Catandunes is not and should not be on the tourist maps of Filipinos or anybody for that matter.

i really think the tourism council should carefully evaluate themselves and look at what's happening in other provinces in the country. take a look at camsur...its now one of the hottest provinces in the country because of watersports particularly boarding. their LGU actually had the foresight to create this amazing place and turn it into a watersports enthusiast's haven. their hotel rooms are actually 3-star hotel types but were only made out of old pier containers which they refurbished and airconditioned.

my point here is, we don't need to spend so much. we just need FRESH ideas and we need everybody's OPEN MINDEDNESS. suggestions should be heeded and constructive criticisms should not be treated as insults but as a means to grow and improve. we should also set aside our pride because in the end, we will all benefit.

i totally agree. airfare costs in Catanduanes are very expensive. but i think its also because asian spirit is the only airline that includes Catanduanes in its domestic flight destinations. On top of that, Jet pa yung ginagamit nila going to Catanduanes. I really hope smaller airlines like Seair (owned by a German national) and/or Air Philippines (now owned by Lucio Tan and an affiliate of PAL) would look at the possibility of including us in their destinations. If this happens, there would be a price 'war' that could ensue which would result in lower airfare costs.