DOT Office of Product Development of Golf Tourism and Special Projects Director Lyle Fernando Uy, reporting on the success of the recent three-day Cebu Swing: Golf Tourism Playing Familiarization Tour, says the event was “a remarkable success, seamlessly blending the beauty of Cebu’s golf courses with its vibrant culture and hospitable atmosphere.”
“The tour’s triumph has paved the way for future collaborations and partnerships,” he says, recommending that the Cebu model be replicated across domestic and international destinations.
Designed as friendly rounds of 18 holes per course, Cebu Swing attracted over 40 golf enthusiasts from Luzon and Central Visayas to play at the historic Club Filipino de Cebu, Inc. in Danao City, Alta Vista Golf and Country Club in Pardo, Cebu City and the Liloan Golf and Leisure Estate. The players covered one course before midday and explored nature, culture and heritage sites, went shopping or enjoyed the province’s dining and entertainment centers in the afternoons. The group also visited the golf courses of Medellin which is emerging as another premier golf tourism hub in the province.
The players, who included Batangas Vice-Governor Mark Leviste, gave positive reviews of the experience, as recorded through the digital surveys they completed daily. The results of the surveys will inform a long-term strategic plan for golf tourism.
“It has been quite a long-drawn-out rebirth for golf tourism,” says Gelena Asis-Dimpas, Chief Tourism Operations Officer of the DOT – Central Visayas (DOT7), “but it’s a sure and steady reboot.”
Cebu Swing served as the “showcase of what Cebu is offering to golfers and their families and opens another season of golfing events in Cebu,” she says.
The playing tour was organized by the DOT Product Development of Golf Tourism and Special Projects Office, in coordination with the DOT7, Province of Cebu, local government units and golf clubs.
