The island of Cebu also goes by the moniker “Sunshine City”, partly because of its vibrant weather, but mostly because of its people. Cebuanos welcome each visitor, regardless of purpose, with a warm, happy, and gracious attitude.
Cebu also serves as a hub for business commerce, Due to its geographical location.
The entire narrow island province of Cebu is nestled in the heart of Central Visayas Region, surrounded by Negros island in the east, Leyte and Bohol islands on the west. Due to its geographic location, Cebu serves as a hub for business commerce. As such, Cebu features a network of transport infrastructures, air, land, and sea, to facilitate seamless movement and connectivity. The Mactan-Cebu International Airport is considered to be the second busiest airport in the Philippines, routing both domestic and international destinations. It is also surrounded by an intensive networks of local ports and international port serving as gateway for commerce and tourism opportunities. Recently added to its roster of roads and bridges is newly inaugurated Cebu-Cordova bridge, also known as the Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway. The bridge is considered to be the longest bridge in the Philippines, spanning 8.9 kilometers long and was designed to withstand any natural calamity.
Alongside business and commerce, Cebu is also , popular tourist spot for both local and foreign guests as it offers a plethora of tourism sites and activities. Cebu boasts 4 tourism facets. In 2022, the Travel+Leisure Magazine recognized Cebu’s tourism facets and ranked 16th on the list of 25 Best Islands in the World for 2022 by, with a score of 90.12.
The first two facets embody Cebu’s natural resources., namely the highlands and the coastal destinations. In the southern part of Cebu tourists can explore Osmeña Peak the highest peak standing at 1,013 meters above sea level. Close to Osmeña Peak is Cebu’s Vegetable Basket, known for its landscape filled with high value crops and vegetables. Up north tourists seeking for adventure and thrilling activities can visit the various eco-tourism adventure parks in Balamban offering various camping and extreme outdoor activities such as ziplining, trekking and many more. Close to the metropolitan areas of Cebu City, Mandaue, and Lapu-lapu is the highlands area along the Cebu Transcentral Highway. The mountainous highway is now tucked with quaint cafes and restaurants, and is a home to a cluster of tourism destinations offering various camping activities as well. Among the popular destination is Tops Lookouts offering a breathtaking coastal view of the highly urbanized metropolitan Cebu, while maintaining a serene calm atmosphere. Another highland destination is Sirao Flower Farm. This features flower gardens filled with enchanting variety of flowers, also known as Mini Netherlands. Due to the pandemic, highland destinations are now gaining more popularity as visitors yearn to escape the city to reconnect with nature, and enjoy the open air breeze.
In terms of coastal destinations, the coast line and the beach destinations of the southern, northern, and nearby islands of Cebu are a popular choice among tourists as well. The coastal areas along the highly urbanized cities of Cebu are also enriched with entertainment parks, malls, and restaurants. Nearby island of Mactan offers a variety of resorts, spa and hotels and water parks, including international chains of 5-star hotel and spa resorts such as Shangri-la, Movenpick and Dusit Thani among others. The southern part of Cebu offers various beach destinations including Moalboal known for scuba diving spots, Pescadores Island for whitetip reef sharks, and Oslob for whale sharks. Another popular coastal destination is Camotes Islands, a group of islands located in the eastern part of Cebu. The northern part of the Cebu province likewise houses various beaches and the islands of Malapascua and Bantayan. Malapascua Island is popular for its abundance of thresher sharks while Bantayan Island offers various beaches and eco-tourism sites.
The third facet celebrates the rich heritage and culture of Cebuanos. Cebu is considered the oldest city in the Philippines. Tourists can travel back in time and witness the historic past of the entire island through its rich significant historical landmarks, featuring Spanish, American, and Japanese heritage, these includes the famous Magellan’s Cross, Mactan Shrine, Basilica Minore De Sto. Nino, Plaza Independencia, Fort San Pedro, Cebu Museo Sugbo, and Cebu Heritage Monument,.
Magellan’s Cross The cross was planted by the Portuguese and Spanish explorers headed by Ferdinand Magellan in 1521 to mark the baptism of the first Filipinos who converted to Roman Catholic, Rajah Humabon and his wife, and native warriors.
Mactan Shrine commemorates the Battle of Mactan in 1521 between Ferdinand Magellan and local chieftain Lapu-Lapu. The shrine houses two monuments, a 20 meters tall bronze statue of Lapu-Lapu, and a stone obelisk dedicated to Ferdinand Magellan, marking the first circumnavigation of the earth.
Basilica Minore De Sto. Nino also known as The Minor Basilica of the Holy Child was inaugurated on April 28 1565, serving as the oldest Roman Catholic church established in the Philippines.
Plaza Independencia serves as a symbol of independence of freedom from all the conquerors. During the Spanish era it has served as military training ground and parade ground. The grounds also and commemorates the heroism of every Filipino who fought in World War II through the Veteran’s Memorial monument.
Fort San Pedro served as the as military defense structure during the Spanish colonization. Having built in 1738, it is recognized as the oldest triangular bastion fort in the country. During the 19th century, the fort was attacked and overtaken by Filipino revolutionaries. However during the American colonization, the fort was turned into a barracks, and a prison during the Japanese era. Today, Fort San Pedro serves as a historical park, and houses painting, real cannanons ,a nd old photographs.
Cebu Museo Sugbo is known today as the Cebu Provincial Museum. The structure was designed by Domingo de Escondrillas in 1869 to serve as a prison for the whole Visayas region. During the American period it has served as a stable for horses, and was eventually used as a prison for the whole island of Cebu. In the Japanese era, was likewise used as a prison for the guerillas. Today the structure houses a museum featuring 4 various galleries ,
Cebu Heritage Monument features a series of sculptures made by the local artist Eduardo Castrillo. The monument is made of various materials including concrete, bronze, brass and steel and illustrates the symbolic events, places, and personalities of Cebu. The illustrated scenes include the conversion of Rajah Humabon’s to Christianity, a procession of Santo Niño, a Roman Catholic mass to the historic battle between the native chieftain Lapu-Lapu and Ferdinand Magellan in April 21, 1521. In terms of places, the monument shows the Basilica del Santo Niño, the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral, the Saint John the Baptist Church, the Magellan’s Cross, and a Spanish Galleon. Lastly, images of notable personalities include President Sergio Osmena Sr. and Cebuano martyr St. Pedro Calungsod.
More so, visitors can feel the friendliness, and the strength in character of Cebuanos through its festive events and culinary offerings. The Sinulog-Santo Niño Festival is an annual cultural and religious festival commemorated on the third Sunday of January in Cebu City. Aside from religious rites and procession, Sinulog is famous for its grand street parade, often times followed by street parties and concerts. In recent years, Sinulog Festival is even concluded with a a pyro-musical show complemented with a magnificent display of fireworks at night. In terms of food offerings, Cebu is most famous for its Cebu Lechon, a roasted suckling pig, and was dubbed by the late culinary expert Anthony Bourdain as the best pork ever. Cebu is also known for its fresh mangoes and are exported globally as dried mangoes. Other specialties of Cebu includes danggit, lechon manok, and extensive offering fresh seafoods.
Truly, Cebu showcases the balance between the captivating natural sites across the whole of Cebu and the vibrant urban areas of Metropolitan Cebu, providing a conducive environment for everyone to thrive and achieve work-life balance.
Moving forward, private stakeholders (business chambers, hoteliers, tour operators, transport operators, and ancillary service providers) and the local, provincial, regional and national government are all united and committed in making Cebu the leading tourism hub in the southern part of the Philippines.
All in all, private stakeholders, together with the public sector, are pursuing programs and projects geared toward making Cebu as a top destination for a safe, comfortable, and memorable travel.
