By Bingo P. Dejaresco III
Tourism, Bohol’s flagship industry, gets one more shot in the arm as thousands of Boholanos from all over the world come home for the traditional once-every-three-year provincial homecoming called “Tigum Bol-anon sa Tibuok Kalibutan†or TBTK on May 8-15.
Now on its fifth observance since 2000, the TBTK has been a phenomenon in provincial homecoming that then Department of Tourism (DOT) Secretary Richard “Dick†Gordon urged all provinces to replicate the successful tourism experiment.
No province, however, has come close in terms of participants and events celebrated, according to the DOT.
An institutionalized global get-together which started with just participants from the United States and Canada, TBTK now includes the European countries, Middle East, Asia and Australia, virtually the four continents. Not only the expatriates and their offspring
join the TBTK but Boholanos from other provinces as well.
It will be SRO (Standing Room Only) for
Bohol tourism since the event which was traditionally observed in the month of July has been moved (this 2012) to May, Bohol’s “fiesta month.â€
May is unique fiesta month for Bohol wherein almost everyday, a town observes a happy, well-attended “fiesta†- giving rise to the so-called “professional fiesta–goes.â€
Marketing budget in May is oftentimes saved ahead of time for transportation to as many towns observing their special day.
The “May Fiestivities†begin on May 1, the big fiesta of the provincial capital Tagbilaran City.
The balikbayans will be escorted by Bohol officials led by Governor Edgar Chatto on a courtesy call on President Benigno S. Aquino III at Malacanang on May 8, signaling the beginning of the week-long celebration of TBTK 2012.
It is expected to be the biggest TBTK delegation ever to visit the Palace.
The TBTK will feature the famed Mrs. and Miss Bohol International contests, choice of TOBAW (Ten Outstanding Boholanos Awardees Worldwide), fun run, basketball tourney to feature PBA players with Boholano roots led by former cage star Bernard Fabiosa of Crispa and the much-awaited reunions among families, clans and schoolmates.
Tagbilaran City has become some sort of a “university town†where hundreds of alumni are expected to attend the school reunions of Holy Name University, University of Bohol, Holy Spirit School, Bohol Wisdom School, Philippine Maritime School, Bohol Institute of Technology, Cecilio Putong National School, MISU, Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary and the Bohol Provincial Hospital School of Nursing which has sent hundreds of world-class nurses overseas.
On the other hand, the Mrs. Bohol International contest is a benefit event of the TBTK to help sustain the operation of the “Bohol Crisis Intervention Center,†which rescues and rehabilitates abused women and children.
Tourism boost
Already one of the most preferred tourist destinations in recent years, Bohol and its famous island resorts are expected to be “fully booked†during the TBTK -- even though at least one new resort is opened every month in the fabled island, headed by the Panglao island, globally renowned for its azure blue waters and white sandy beaches.
Diving and snorkeling in the famous
sites as Balingcasag and Pamilacan will again be a preferred activity although dolphin-watching with an island-hopping tour has been gaining ground, even among local tourists.
The most popular “countryside tour†featuring the famous Chocolate Hills, the Loboc River Boat ride, man-made forest, tarsier watch and the famous markers of heroes and the century-old churches continues to be a source of fascination even for those who had already savored the package tour.
Potentially, Bohol can bring in over 5,000 tourists per day, assuming full capacity of the nine daily Manila-Bohol flights of Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific, Zest Air and Air Philippines and a slew of fast crafts from Cebu and nearby islands.
The “new kid in the tourism block†for the balikbayan, however, has to be the rise of the so-called E.A.T. (Extreme/Educational Adventure Tour) in the once obscure fourth class municipality of Danao (some 95 kilometers northeast of Tagbilaran) headed by Mayor Tom Gonzaga.
The Danao folks took the cue from the fantastic rise of Camarines Sur as the No. 1 tourist spot in the country on the basis of its active, water-based activities.
They sensed that there is a growing “tourism market segment†who finds it more “fun in the Philippines†if they are participatory rather than passive visual observers of the beautiful sites in the country.
Danao’s mountainous terrain gave rise to high
adventure rides like the zipline (one-half kilometer, RP’s longest and tallest), skyride, suislide and the breath-taking “plunge†patterned after the thrill ride in New Zealand.
Its Wahig River now is the site of kayaking, trekking and canoeing while the mysterious caves and sloppy hills give much room for the adventurous for wall climbing, camping and a village tour, including an educational section of organic farming.
Boholanos are keenly awaiting the jumbo boost that the completion in three years of the P7-billion Bohol Panglao International Airport will do to its
tourism flagship industry.
But for now, the thousands of balikbayans will be more than content to savor all there is for the May 2012 TBTK homecoming.
Among the enduring positive traits of Boholanos has been their fabled attachment to their home province -- making the TBTK a homing instinct, a bird to its nest event -- that “stokes the inner Boholano fire deadened by the ordinariness of
daily life in a foreign land.â€
It is the main reason all past four TBTKs have been a resounding success.
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