Why Sarbay is biggest beach festival

By BEVERLY C. PAOYON

GUMASA, Sarangani (May 22, 2015) – There are reasons why Sarbay is the biggest beach festival in the Philippines.

The Sarangani Bay Festival, or popularly known as Sarbay, is a premier summer beach festival held at the white sand beach of Gumasa strip in the town of Glan.

The festival was formally incepted in 2006 by the provincial officials that time with Migs Dominguez as governor.

As the years passed by, the potential growth of Sarbay has been fully realized until it reached the distinction as the biggest beach festival in the country.

One proof of this is the multiplying number of tourists coming to SarBay each year.

Michelle Solon, Sarangani Tourism Council president, explained why Sarbay has the rightful claim to be the biggest beach festival in the country.

“Yes, we are the biggest (number of tourists) followed by La Boracay that happens every Labor Day (May 1) in Boracay.”

On the two-day (May 15–16) span of SarBay 2015, the provincial government tallied around 127,000 tourists that came to the festival from May 14-17.

Sarbay 2014 gathered an estimated 120,000 tourists according to the Sarangani Tourism and Investment Promotion Center.

These tourists came from different regions of Mindanao, Visayas, and even as far as Luzon.

Sarbay has never ran out of foreign tourists too. Beach lovers from the United States, Australia, and Canada rush to the Philippines once the date of the next Sarbay is announced.

Solon said she was pleased with the “successful turnout of people that came to Sarbay. We thank the athletes, the beach enthusiasts and the support of Sarbay citizens (frequent Sarbay goers).”

The second proof that makes Sarbay as the biggest beach festival in the country is the awards it has received in its decade of existence.

In 2012, Sarbay was awarded First Runner Up and garnered in 2013 the Grand Champion as Best Tourism Event of the Philippines in sports and adventure category by the Association of Tourism Officers of the Philippines and Department of Tourism.

“Nakikita po natin na talagang nagtatake-off na masyado ang tourism ng Sarangani,” Solon said crediting it to the efforts of the provincial government as well as to Sarangani congressman and boxing icon Manny Pacquiao for bringing the name of Sarangani into “a platform at the international scene.”

Another proof is the promulgation of environmental advocacies for Sarbay, making the festival not just the biggest but also the cleanest.

During the Sarbay 2015, the provincial government of Sarangani launched #ilovecleansarbay in order to promote responsible partying while in the cradle of nature.

Because of this, party-goers participated in the clean-up drive the day after SarBay 2015, Sunday, May 17, led by the local government units of barangay Gumasa and municipality of Glan, and private partner Smart Communications.

The Alcantara Foundation also took part in this initiative by releasing 100,000 bangus fingerlings to Sarangani Bay.

Solon said that her husband, Governor Steve Chiongbian Solon, has “envisioned a clean Sarbay festival.”

“It turned out that our Sarbay goers can be responsible tourists! All I can really say now is ‘Sumusulong na talaga ang ating Sarangani’,” said Michelle Solon who also chairs the Regional Tourism Council.

Over the years, Governor Steve Chiongbian Solon said, the popularity of Sarbay “has grown by leaps and bounds” and revealed the secret to a successful tourism campaign which is “sustainability and continuity.”

A lot of the province’s tourism products, he said, are crafted way back from the provincial government past administrations.

“We just improved it. We engaged partnerships with big private sector groups to help us develop tourism areas.”

The governor thanked Smart Communications, Globe Telecom, San Miguel, Delimondo, KCC Malls and 2GO for supporting Sarbay 2015. (Beverly C. Paoyon/SARANGANI INFORMATION OFFICE)