Cebu starting to attract tourists from Turkey, Israel

CEBU IS starting to gain interest from the Middle East tourist market, particularly from Turkey and Israel. Tour operators in Cebu have noted the increasing number of specialty tours from these countries, among others, including for wedding ceremonies, experiential and leisure tours, as well as for meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibits (MICE), according to Tour Operations Specialists (CATOS) President Alice Queblatin. “In fact, Israeli travel agents have already made its initial ocular visits in Cebu and touching base with local tour operators here to respond to the strong interest of Israeli nationals to explore Cebu,” she said. Cebu has been a popular destination for luxurious Indian weddings for some time, said Ms. Queblatin, and this niche is expanding to other non-Christian countries like Israel. Ms. Queblatin noted that while Cebu is ready to accommodate such specialty tours, direct access is seen to be the hindrance to further growing this emerging market. “Direct access from Cebu to Israel is very important. While a lot of us are doing pilgrimage tours to Israel, people from Israel are also looking at Cebu as their destination. We need direct flights,” she said. Meanwhile, Turkish travel agents have also made initial tours to Cebu in the last few months, to see interesting activities and destinations to lure tourists from Turkey. — The Freeman