400-hectare theme park eyed as Cebu’s next tourism star

• Source: http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?nid=6&rid=919208
• Thursday, September 1, 2016

(PNA), LAP/EB/EDS

CEBU CITY, Sept. 1 (PNA) -- A 400-hectare theme park being developed in Carmen town, some 41 kilometers north of Cebu City, is being groomed as Cebu’s next tourism star, an official said.

Patria Aurora “Dawnie” Roa, Cebu Province’s tourism consultant, said the theme park, developed by Cebu pawnshop and money remittance magnate Michel Lhuillier, is expected to attract both local and foreign tourists.

Roa, a former Department of Tourism (DOT) 7 director, said the 400-hectare theme park in Carmen is an ecotourism Disneyland-like attraction in size and activities.

“It is a grand tourism product,” Roa said.

She said the theme park is already a “destination by itself.”

Roa said Lhuillier’s theme park will have accommodation facilities, farms, zoo, nature tripping and other outdoor activities that promote “communion with nature.”

“This new tourism product will boost our positioning as an eco-tourism destination,” said Roa.

Roa said ecotourism remains a priority tourism product being pushed by Cebu Vice Governor Agnes Magpale, who is the chair of the province’s tourism sector.

Earlier, Magpale pledged to develop more ecotourism destinations in Cebu, citing the rising interest on nature tours.

Magpale said the provincial government released last year funds to Samboan town for the Aguinid Falls development; Tabuelan town for its river cruise project; and the towns of Badian and Alegria for their canyoneering activities.