DOT: Tourists Continue To Visit Samal Island Despite Prolonged Blackout

Tourists continue to visit the Island Garden City of Samal (Igacos) despite the prolonged blackout that hit the island since last week, a tourism official said on Tuesday.

Department of Tourism (DOT) Region 11 Director Roberto Alabado said on the sixth day of the blackout, there had been no notifications of cancelled bookings to the island, known as the top destination for tourists visiting Davao Region.

Alabado, however, admitted that he would still expect a slight decline in the number of tourists visiting the island if the blackout continue to persist.

Last year, around 300,000 tourists visited the island during Holy Week. Alabado, however, said that he had yet to estimate the Holy Week arrival this year.

“The tourists continue to visit Samal Island but I am expecting that tourist arrivals might be affected,” Alabado told the Philippines News Agency, noting that while day tourists might not feel the effect of power outages, overnight stayers definitely will.

“Many of the resort owners rely on day tourists but I don’t think they will be affected very much. However, overnight tourists certainly will, especially if the resort does not have a standby generator,” he added.

Alabado also assured that resort owners are currently procuring and operating their generators

Moreover, he said that the Davao del Norte Electric Cooperative (Daneco) was also making an effort to procure a generator for the whole island.

Earlier reports showed that resort owners have been losing some Php 5,000 daily from their operation since the blackout last March 17.

The blackout was due to the damages inflicted on the Daneco submarine cable by M/V Ecuador ship’s anchor. The cable connects the island to the electricity grid.

Alabado said that the arrival of the generator for the whole island is expected before the end of the month.

The generator can provide some 8 megawatts (MW) for the island, which has an estimated power demand of 5 MW. (PNA) RMA/ANP