[ Manila Bulletin Online ] November 23, 2008
By MALOU M. MOZO
MACTAN, Cebu – Capitalizing on the popularity of Cebu’s adventure tourism, a young Cebuano entrepreneur poured in a P2-million investment for a jet ski group tour package in the province.
Alex Roa, owner of Jetscape Adventures Inc., said the business aims to address the growing need for more adventure packages to cater to the influx of tourists who have been smitten by the surrounding islands and neighboring provinces here.
Roa is putting together four jet ski units for the tour package, which cost the company P500,000 per unit. This allows jet ski enthusiasts to tour the different islands in Cebu to as far as Pandanon Island in Bohol 70 nautical miles far from Cebu.
A 10-person capacity speedboat will accompany the initial four Jet Ski units. The speedboat is intended for individuals who are apprehensive to use the jet skis.
"This is something new in Cebu and I presume in the Philippines, where jet ski or wave runner units are used for commercial tourism purposes," Roa said, adding that a jet ski adventure is seen to attract mostly European and Japanese tourists.
Roa said the company is linking with tour operators and resort hotels in Cebu to include jet ski tours in their packages.
"I see the potential of rolling this out commercially and at the same time helping provide Cebu a unique and attractive option for tourists to explore the sea-based nature and islands," said Roa, himself a jet ski rider.
Considering that this service is new in the Philippines, he is optimistic it will drum up similar interest among locals.
Tourism Secretary Ace Durano has been urging young capitalists in the country to invest in tourism-related businesses, saying that in the United States, adventure tourism is a 0 million industry.
The Philippines, which has untapped tourism sites that can be developed for this type of activity, can generate good tourism revenue while providing local residents with livelihood.
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