Captivating Guimaras

"Captivating Guimaras"

Nueva Valencia, Guimaras - An Italian couple on a two-month holiday in the Philippines chose to include this paradise in their itinerary and stayed at the Raymen Beach Resort, unperturbed by news about the oil spill that brought the island province to world attention in August of the same year. "We are just here to see good beaches," said the Boldo couple, who are just among the hundreds of foreign guests who kept coming to Guimaras even in the aftermath of the infamous oil spill. Guimaras has 238.3-kilometer coastline, with long stretches of white, powdery sand considered among the finest in the world.

Lucia Cachuela, managing director of the El Retiro Beach Park, noted that international visitor arrivals to Guimaras began to pick up in November. "Tourists are coming back," Cachuela told journalists who visited the province as a part of the Guimaras Tourism Recovery Program spearheaded by the Department of Tourism

 

More attention has been given to Guimaras since August. Now, there are scientists, researchers, and donors who are coming to Guimaras,"

 

Guimaras targets to attract more foreign tourists, because they spend the highest amount while in the island. The DOT Guests Assistance Centers in the port towns of Buenavista and Jordan estimated the average daily expenditure of foreign tourist at P2,000; foreign excursionist, P1,500; local tourist, P1,500; and local excursionist, P500.