By AJ de la Torre (The Freeman) Updated December 10, 2009 12:00 AM
CEBU, Philippines - The Department of Tourism region 7 office will soon be welcoming its new regional director who promised to continue on pushing forward the programs initiated by outgoing regional director Patria Aurora Roa.
Director Roa said during the recent 888 news forum in Marco Polo Plaza hotel that she is confident in leaving her post with the new director who has been with the department for years now.
Roa’s successor is Maria Rica Bueno, currently the Director III and head of the Team Asia Pacific in the tourism planning and promotions of DOT.
According to Roa, after she extended her retirement this year, her stay was extended and would be effective until January of next year where Bueno will officially be coming in.
Roa said she is confident that Bueno will effectively push more activities that would promote the whole region and gather more foreign and local tourists।
She added that more tourists are expected next year due to the availability of more chartered flights and regular flights opening direct to Cebu and via Cebu that caters to the growing market of tourists visiting the region.
For Bueno, she said that she is eager to continue the work done by the department in the region and she would be going around in order to study more possibilities for the region.
Bueno said that though she is not from Central Visayas, she knows very well Central Visayas since she has been here being part of the planning and development division of the department.
Bueno, who speaks the Visayan language very well, said that she sees a lot of potential for the region and she is keen on going around and getting to see more on what should be done to boost the tourism in Central Visayas and look for other places within that could be developed in to destinations.
According to Bueno, Cebu is a good destination for the Meetings Incentives and Conventions and Exhibitions industry. She said that she will be focusing on this since they have noted that Cebu has been a favorite in the previous years, not only for locals but foreign business players who have their meetings and conferences in Cebu.
Bueno said that more people consider coming to Cebu to have their conferences because aside from it having all the hotels and other function halls good for business conferences, it also has the beaches and other wellness facilities and activities that could be enjoyed by those who want to rest after work.
She said that a lot of people already know of Cebu as a business and leisure destination so they see it as a good market to develop. Bueno said that although Cebu, or the country in general, is still far off from other neighboring countries who are leading in the MICE industry like Singapore and Thailand, they still see a lot of potential but needs to work on it. In fact, Bueno said that the coming in of foreign businesses to have their conferences here is a good sign that the foreign visitors see the country to have a lot capability in holding large conferences.
Further, Bueno said that she will also be focusing on the development of Cebu’s diving industry considering the presence of wonderful beaches in the province that have already gained the interest of tourists.
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