All set for Sarangani Bay Festival

By Beverly Paoyon

ALABEL, Sarangani (May 11, 2011) - Event organizers anticipate the influx of tourists as all preparations were set for the May 19-21 Sarangani Bay Festival.

“Last year, we had 20,000 guests and we are expecting a lot more this time,” Governor Migs Dominguez told a press conference Wednesday (May 11).

Sarangani Bay Festival will be celebrated along the white-sand beach resorts in Gumasa where Glan is known for.

Sarangani investment officer-in-charge Milbie Guiang-Daguro reported tourist arrivals have been notably increasing every year and the resort industry was expanding to accommodate the influx of tourists especially during Sarangani Bay festivals.

This is where the “return of investments” in the tourism sector was noted for where expansions adhere to the standards of the Department of Tourism.

With the expansion, Sarangani tourism officer-in-charge Taqna Sumajit said there would be enough room to host even 30,000 arrivals.

She said, “as of March, room accommodations in resorts in Gumasa, Glan are mostly fully booked already.” However, resort operators have set up tent areas to accommodate more people.

Dominguez said this means that Sarangani has been successful in its promotion of making the province a tourism destination apart from making Glan as “the convention destination for Mindanao in the future.”

Glan will be hosting the First National Mango Congress in September.

The governor said the challenge of Sarangani from the very beginning is “to market and put (our) best foot forward” where he identified Gumasa as the best foot of Sarangani especially for summer activities.

“We have witnessed the growth of Sarangani all towards the development of its tourism industry,” he said, where the provincial government invested for its promotion to eventually gain the support of the private sector.

“At least we can proudly say that our partnership with the private sector has indeed blossomed in a span of time,” he said.

Dominguez said the role of the provincial government is to “provide necessary venue and atmosphere where investments can prosper” which Sarangani now has been reaping the gains of becoming not only a destination for tourists but for investors as well. (Beverly Paoyon/SARANGANI INFORMATION OFFICE)