Life of Guangzhou - Cebu to Boost Ties with Guangdong

Cebu province of the Philippines will enter into a sisterhood agreement with Guangdong province of China to strengthen trade cooperation in academe and tourism in the fourth quarter of this year.

A seashore in Cebu province of the Philippines.

Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia said she will fly to Guangdong in March to sign a memorandum of understanding with the governor of Guangdong.

The Chinese province's foreign minister made the request during a visit to Cebu.

“We were flattered to learn that the number one province in China, with the highest total gross domestic product, wants to enter into an agreement,” Garcia said.

A technical working group will discuss areas of cooperation.

Among these are tourism and exchange students, Garcia told reporters during a welcome dinner for 1,000 Chinese tourists at Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino.

She said China is in a better position to ride out the economic crisis since it is an economic superpower whose people have high spending power.

“They (Chinese) would want to come to the Philippines because it's part of the Asia Pacific region. It's near. They would want to come to a place where they have ties...thousands of years ago, we traded with the Chinese,” Garcia said.

The 1,000 tourists were brought to Cebu on a travel package in partnership with Dong Fang International Travel Services Ltd. Guangzhou, Dong Gang Leisure Phils. and the Department of Tourism (DOT).

The Chinese tourists, who will stay in Cebu from January 26 to February 6, have visited Badian Island in the south and Bohol province.

They are staying at the Cebu Parklane International Hotel, Waterfront Cebu, Waterfront Airport Hotel and Casino Mactan and Shangri-La's Mactan Resort and Spa.

Bu WeiNian, chairman of Dong Fang Guangzhou, said prevailing global economic conditions do not prevent the Chinese from traveling to Cebu.

Bu said Cebu is known in China as an ideal tourist destination.

He said they target to bring 5,000 to 10,000 Chinese tourists to Cebu by the end of 2009.

Dong Fang Philippines senior vice president Alan Dino said these tourists will come every month in three batches of 300 visitors each.

While the natural resources of Cebu are well-loved by the Chinese, Dino said there is a need to increase the number of rooms in Cebu especially for destinations such as Badian Island.

Tourism Undersecretary Phineas Alburo said the 1,000 tourists is a good start for Cebu's tourism industry this year amid the global economic slump.
The Chinese market ranks sixth in Cebu's foreign tourist arrivals.

Alburo said a total of 15,303 Chinese visited Cebu in 2008. This is an increase of 73 percent from the 8,803 tourists in 2007.

[More Guangdong and Pan PRD News]