Project Title & Location
CENTRAL VISAYAS
REGIONAL TOURISM PLAN
Provinces of Cebu, Bohol, Negros Oriental and Siquijor

Client
DEPARTMENT OF TOURISM
DOT Building, T.M. Kalaw St.
Luneta, Manila

Project Completion
1998

Associated Firms
SEASTEMS, Inc.
Transportas Consulting
Orient Integrated Development Consultants, Inc.

Services Provided
- Inventory of tourism assets
- Establishment of tourism clusters and circuits
- Identification of transport and infrastructure needs

The Regional Tourism Plan for Central Visayas anchors on the proper rationalization of the natural, historical and cultural assets of the region. Under the plan the tourism industry is adopting a multi-dimensional approach that is strongly influenced by the environment, social soundness, transportation and infrastructure needs. These are also the factors adopted in formulating the legal and policy framework for tourism in region 7.

The tourism assets of the four provinces comprising the region are ranked as to degree of development within their clusters of contiguity. The relative strengths of each cluster are then categorized, out of which hierarchies are formed and evaluated. These become the basis for the development of an integrated cluster and circuit plan that links the islands as complementary tourist destinations.

The array of circuits is a combination of several places that allow inter-town, inter-island routes and inter-regional connections. Emphasis is given to the island characteristics of majority of the towns in the Visayas. With the compiled information, facilities that are available in the towns become significant indicators in ranking the tourism destinations in the circuit.

The desirable circuits are those that can form a lattice, the network of which can be promoted as a package of diverse activities. The recommendation is to make the tourism program for the region market driven. It is significant to note that when a tourism asset falls in more than one tourism category, the asset has more than one function. With the strategy of developing tourism clusters and their circuits, the key town sites of Coastal Visayas can serve as gateways to other places in the country. Plan implementation is proposed to be in three stages up to 2015.