SAN JOSE De BUENAVISTA, Antique – The Antique Provincial Tourism Office has high hopes for the two-day “Cruise Tourism Mock Tour” that will eventually introduce the province to the international cruise tourism map.
Antique Provincial Tourism Officer Jose Ramlo Villaluna said that no less than Department of Tourism (DOT) regional director Helen Catalbas and governor Rhodora Cadiao led the mock tour at Lipata Port in Culasi town. The mock tour was slated from June 7 to 8.
He said he is hopeful that there would be tour operators ready to take interest in bringing in their visitors and dock the cruise ships at the port in northern Culasi.
Meanwhile, governor Cadiao said in a separate interview that as chairperson of the Regional Development Council for Western Visayas, she really had asked the DOT to consider her home province in the cruise tourism.
“The tourists might just stay here for 10 hours but they could really help our economy because of the souvenir items they would be buying and other services they would be availing of,” Cadiao said.
During the mock tour, among the places that would be introduced are the Mararison island in Culasi.
There, the guests were entertained by the Mararison children’s choir. They were also invited to try out the island destination’s many activities: trekking, sand bar diving, swimming, and snorkeling.
The mock tour will also highlight the Malumpati Cold Spring, which enables tourists to trek to the head spring and do water tubing.
For the second day, there was a “kawa” hot bath and fish spa at the Tuno; and a boodle lunch and pottery making activity at the Calawag Mountain Resort in Tibiao were also offered to guests. (PNA)
