Samal Experiences Increased Vacancies{2}
I’ve not written about the massacre in Maguindanao previously, partially because I don’t feel qualified to speak on political matters in the Philippines and partially because that’s not what I or this site are about. Needless to say that I find the event unconscionable. It certainly did nothing to dispel the reputation that Mindanao has gained around the world.
The fallout of the tragedy is already reaching Davao and Samal Island in regards to the tourism trade. Occupancy rates for hotels and resorts that were already suffering this fall have taken a sharp turn downward since the Ampatuan massacre.
Simeon P. Marfori II, president of the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, told local media that hotels here lost about “200-room nights,” or roughly 18 room reservations cancelled daily, since the day of the massacre until Friday last week. “I believe the losses have continued to increase,” he said.
Davao City and nearby Samal Island, which have about 1,500 rooms available, had already been suffering with a little less than two-thirds occupancy rate in recent months.
The hope is that fears will soon dissipate and the upcoming elections will help fill the rooms again, as has been the case in the past. At least as concerning, from a tourism point of view, should be the decline in occupancy prior to the unfortunate killings.
via: Davao City reports tourism backlash from massacre | BusinessWorld Online
photo credit: www.zooomr.com/photos/jeremybrooks/3766362
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Feb 14, 2010 @ 03:20:38
hi randy – the family biz here is a hotel her in davao and from what i’ve seen, occupancy is definitely back to normal. last night was a valentine saturday and the restaurants and traffic was crowded. this is definitely a good sign.
Feb 14, 2010 @ 09:38:21
Hi Macky – I hope you are enjoying fatherhood and getting lots of sleep. Congratulations on that.
Did you ever figure out where to and when you are going to move?
It’s good to hear that occupancy is up or at least normal. I had read elsewhere that there seemed to be an unusually high number of foreigners in the big cities lately. Seems the Philippines has weathered the recession very welll as a whole. Things still have a ways to go here.