Cebu Ocean Park reopens, brings back happiness to Cebuanos

CEBU CITY – Cebu Ocean Park located at the SM Seaside Mall, across Mountain Wing, re-opened its doors to the public Thursday, November 5 to bring happiness and a relaxed transition into the new normal after almost seven months of closure due to COVID-19.  It is opened at 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.  on Thursdays to Sundays with discounts on entrance fee now at P430 on weekdays and P570 on weekends inclusive with one round of an iced tea drink.

“We must start somewhere. We have seen traffic going around and some businesses are opening, we won’t give up now.  For people to enjoy, we want to bring back happiness to people since we have been through a lot because of COVID-19,” Hitesh Sampat, General Manager of Cebu Ocean Park, said.

Sampat said that Cebu Ocean Park is ready to welcome as the role model of educating people and for them to experience firsthand the beauty and wonders of marine biology and the many nuances of the ocean and its deep natural attitude, introducing its newest residents-- the baby bearded dragons, and moray eels, all of whom were born during the lockdown.

"This will be an opportunity to once again experience the wonders of wildlife with their families, abiding age limitations applied by IATF and LGU, with safe and educational experience to stroll among diverse habitats, take part in fun and a more relaxed atmosphere,” Sampat added.

He went on that Ocean Park must establish its strong foothold in the educational recreation in Cebu, the Visayas and Mindanao areas.  Now is the time to move around as quarantine status had been relaxed and tourists are expected to come back depending on the ease of border and inter-island travels from the various local government units (LGUs) in the country.

To follow safety and health protocols, the Park is strictly enforcing all safety measures including allowing only 20 percent of the Parks capacity of 7,000 people per day; 15 to 65 years old guests and there are three hand washing areas in prominent places within the Park.

Guests are also encouraged to stay connected online by tuning into the park's weekly facebook livestream which comes with a fun quiz for viewers to test their knowledge.

Cebu Ocean Park operation’s manager Andrea Bruno said that the Park’s management provides a safe and educational experience made for all ages, where they can learn about the magic of animal life.   It might be different from past visits, but he is confident that the Cebu Ocean Park family - guests, staff - will help make ‘different' feel awesome.

The Park's safety measures include: Mandatory safe distancing measures; Contact Tracing Application: mandatory check in and out of guests; Temperature screenings; Increasing the number of sanitizing stations; Maintaining robust cleaning routines and Mandatory face masks for staff and guests alike, Bruno bared.