HRRACI, 2GO push for ‘revenge travels’, reignites tourism in Cebu

MINERVA BC NEWMAN

CEBU CITY—The Hotel, Resort and Restaurant Association of Cebu, Inc. (HRRACI) and 2GO inked the memorandum of agreement (MOA), March 9 onboard MV-Masagana to push for safe and affordable ‘revenge travels’ to Cebu and launched the Sail & Stay Cebu for Filipinos to avail of this unique ‘sailacation’ package as more regions in the country open with less restrictions on leisure trips under the most relaxed Covid-19 alert level.

HRRACI president Alfred Reyes said that with the opening of the economy, HRRAC fully supports the revival of travel and tourism in the country, especially here in Cebu and with some domestic places seeing relaxed restrictions, local travelers can now have the unique travel experience.

“HRRAC has already ventured into air travel which is further complemented by 2GO for the sea. Our partnership provides easier access to different destinations through 2GO’s customer interaction center and a seamless experience for your sea trips and your hotel stays. Our partnership aims to foster the economy’s growth and slowly brings back the confidence of traveling amidst these times,” Reyes said.

Cebu City Tourism Council chair, Atty. Joy Pesquera welcomed this partnership as “We move forward to revive the tourism in Cebu City after it has experienced setbacks and challenges due to the pandemic and typhoon Odette.”

2GO AVP for Marketing, Blessie Cruz also acknowledged the pivotal roles of the HRRAC and the Cebu City Tourism Council to support the Sail & Stay Cebu program.  She bared that in collaboration with (HRRACI), 2GO is offering a package rate of PHP3,599 for a minimum of two persons inclusive of one-way all-in ticket fare with package options of three days and two nights stay at the six hotels who signed up in the company’s exclusive travel offer.

These hotels include Bai Hotel, Cebu Grand Hotel, One Central Hotel, Quest Hotel, Savoy Hotel Mactan and Waterfront Cebu City, Cruz said.

Cruz added that with the warmer days fast approaching, more Filipino families are keen to spend the summer season outside of their houses, for some, probably a first since the pandemic hit two years ago. 

“We are ready to welcome back leisure and business travels as more destinations open up.  The Sail and Stay program are really affordable which lets you experience hotel accommodations on sea and land, convenient booking and allows you to explore sea travel on 2GO’s new world class vessels,” Cruz stated.

 

Tourism and travel restrictions are now easing up in Cebu but even if the effect of the pandemic has been waning over the past few weeks, compliance to the minimum public health standards is still observed. Based on the recent bulletin of the IATF, the entire island will be under Alert Level 2 until March 15, 2022.

Although movement in the province across its cities like Cebu, Mandaue, and Lapu-Lapu is now allowed, travelers are still urged to check the local travel requirements like a valid vaccination card or certification issued by your local government unit (LGU) or another legitimate vaccinating establishment, HRRAC and 2GO still urged travelers to stay informed.

MOA signing between HRRACI and 2GO was witnessed by Atty Joy Pesquera, Chairman of the Cebu City Tourism Council and Michael Sharpe, VP-Allied Services, HRRACI.

To drum up the Sail and Stay Cebu program, hRRACI and 2GO invited some media and social media influencers and bloggers to a familiarization tour of MV-Masagana for them to better appreciate the experiences onboard the new ship acquired from Japan.