Suroy-Suroy Sugbo’s Urban Adventure: A Boost for Metro Cebu’s Tourism Stakeholders

Following the successful return of Suroy-Suroy Sugbo “Explore the Midwest,” provincial officials have announced that the next edition will take place in the highly urbanized area of Cebu Island.

Dubbed as Suroy-Suroy Sugbo “Urban Adventure,” this event will provide an opportunity for the three major cities of Cebu, Mandaue, Lapu-Lapu, and the town of Cordova to showcase their hidden gems in tourism.

Cebu Provincial Tourism Officer Marti Ybanez said that additional revenues are expected for those in the tourism industry in these areas considering that the hundreds of participants will be needing accommodations during the event in September.

“We will also need restaurants and food so it is expected that it will be advantageous to stakeholders,” Ybanez added.

While the itineraries are still being finalized, the “Urban Adventure” will tentatively include visits to mountain resorts in Cebu City and other new attractions in Metro Cebu, such as the Cebu Cordova Link Expressway (CCLEX)—the longest and tallest bridge in the country.

Traditional tourist spots like Magellan’s Cross, Fort San Pedro, Basilica Minore del Santo Niño in Cebu City, and the Liberty Shrine in Lapu-Lapu City will also be included.

Ybanez said it will be different compared to the usual private tours in Metro Cebu area.

“Basically this is always the comment that we get before. Why do we have to participate when all those cities are just a few minutes away and we can just ride a public jeepney or taxi?”

“The Suroy-Suroy package is different because we are now really bringing what is unique and the Governor herself leading the way. So it is different when you go there on your own compared to a package in the Suroy-Suroy. You have seen it, you will be received by the officials and all of the tourism stakeholders,” Ybanez added.

The final itinerary and program for Suroy-Suroy Sugbo Urban Adventure will be announced soon.

Financial assistance from the Cebu Provincial Government is usually provided to participating Local Government Units (LGUs) in Suroy-Suroy Sugbo to help with expenses.

During the recent Suroy-Suroy Sugbo “Explored the Midwest,” Cebu Gov. Gwen Garcia has allocated Capitol funds worth P400,000 for each participating town and city.

“Explore The Midwest” are participated by the towns of Tabuelan, Tuburan, Asturias, Aloguinsan, Pinamungajan, Balamban, and Toledo City.

Impressed by the preparations made by each LGU, the governor announced additional funding of P1 million from the Capitol for each LGU.

“When we’re asked to level up, we did level up beyond expectations. Now in the whole of Province of Cebu this culture of excellence pervades, infects and is always the order of the day,” Garcia said in her speech in Toledo City on June 12.