Marine biologist opens aquatic museum in Lapu

Sun.Star Cebu <> Wednesday, January 28, 2009

BY NANCY R. CUDIS, Sun.Star Staff Reporter

RESIDENTS and tourists can now view features of the underwater world without spending too much time and money.

This, after a British marine biologist put up the first aquarium attraction in Cebu, part of central Philippines that scientists consider to be the global center of marine biodiversity.

Aided by his Filipino wife, Dylan Taylor opened to the public the Mactan Island Aquarium Museum in Barangay Basak, Lapu-Lapu City in October last year.

He said he invested “a few million pesos” in the 400-square-meter facility that features various sea animals, like seahorses, deadly octopus, eels, angelfishes, cowfish with horns and sharks, among others.

Interest

Most of them, he said, are found in central Philippines and are exported to public aquariums in other countries.

CHECK OUT THE WEBSITE OF MACTAN ISLAND AQUARIUM.

Taylor’s love for fish and the lack of aquarium attractions in the country prompted him to put up the new facility.

“We selected Mactan as there is a lot of interest in the sea here. There are many marine activities like scuba diving tourism, small-scale food fishing, aquarium fish collecting and exporting, marine sanctuaries and the controversy over destructive illegal fishing activities,” he said.

At first, the Mactan Island Aquarium focused on tourists. Taylor and his wife, Lucille, were surprised to discover that 90 percent of their customers are students and locals.

Taylor observed that there were only few tourists visiting the facility since they are only taken to places selected by their tour operators.

Tourists

However, Lucille noted a growing number of foreign visitors—American, Norwegians and Russians, among others—who are coming on their own after learning about the aquarium through the Internet.

The facility’s admission fee is P250 for an adult foreigner, P200 for a child foreigner, P100 for an adult local resident, and P75 for a child local resident.

Dylan, who has more than 20 years of experience with aquariums, was involved in large aquarium projects across the world, including the National Aquarium in England, the aquariums at the Burj Al Arab hotel in Dubai, as well as those in Saudi Arabia.

He said he intends on using the business to educate the public about the importance of marine life.

He added that he can also provide specialist knowledge of marine life to anybody who needs technical support with conservation initiatives.

Dylan said that he is currently in discussions with other parties for the possible expansion of the aquarium and the creation of a marine research station that he hopes will attract international researchers who are interested to study marine life in the region.

“The aquarium can be a showcase for the ongoing research projects so that the public would know more about developments that scientists don’t always make public,” he said.

(PHOTO OF WRITER BY ALLAN DEFENSOR OF SUN.STAR CEBU. OTHER PHOTOS BY NANCY R. CUDIS.)

Filed under: Business, Education, Environment , cebu, Lapu-Lapu City, mactan island, marine life, Philippines

Firm maintains space at MCIA for exhibitions

Sun.Star Cebu <> Wednesday, January 28, 2009

BY NANCY R. CUDIS, Sun.Star Staff Reporter

A TOURISM stakeholder is tapping the sales and marketing potential of a 35-square-meter space inside the domestic pre-departure area of the Mactan Cebu International Airport.

(FOTO BY equilibrium2008)

Charles Lim, president of Star Travel and Beyond that manages the space, said the potential lies in the passenger arrivals the airport is accommodating every day.

“It took me a while to convince people that this small exhibition space is a potential selling area. We have an average of 8,000 persons arriving at this airport daily. If one percent of them pass this area, this would be a tremendous spot for tourism promotions,” said Lim, also special tourism envoy for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) region.

He organized the Star Travel and Beyond last year to manage the space. Star Travel and Beyond manages the airport space together with the Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority and the Department of Tourism (DOT).

In the past two months, several companies have held exhibits in the area. Among them are Cebu Pacific, Enchanted Kingdom and The Travel Club that featured luggage brand Samsonite, among others.

At present, it is occupied by the DOT office of Northern Mindanao, the first region in the country to display its destinations in the area.

Lim said they are eyeing the real estate sector as future exhibitors.

“People, when they leave or arrive in Cebu, might want to invest in land here. With some time, they can gather information through the exhibition area before they leave,” said Lim, also president of Skal International Cebu.

Filed under: Business , cebu, mactan cebu international airport

Chamber creates advisory group

Sun.Star Cebu <> Wednesday, January 28, 2009

BY NANCY R. CUDIS, Sun.Star Staff Reporter

TO identify issues affecting Cebu’s economy, the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) created an economic advisory body that is composed of organizations representing a cross-section of Cebu business and the academe.

The Cebu Economic Advisory Group (CEAG) was organized last month to process and consolidate the collective positions and policy recommendations of business on concerns affecting the overall business and investment climate of Cebu.

“This group can become a sounding board for the concerns and sentiments of different sectors affecting business, so that we can articulate and come up with (business-related) pronouncements to the government and other sectors. We want to be an influential group,” CEAG chairman Ge-ronimo Sta. Ana said in a press conference last Monday.

CEAG’s chamber members include CCCI (trade, industry and services sector as well as and the export sector), the European Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines-Cebu, American Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines-Cebu, Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc.-Cebu, and Mactan Economic Zone (MEZ) Chamber of Exporters and
Manufacturers.

The rest of the 11 institutional voting members are the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines-Cebu, Cebu Bankers Club, University of San Carlos, and University of San Jose-Recoletos.

Sta. Ana said economist Dr. Cayetano Paderanga will act as special economic adviser while the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) will provide technical assistance and database.

“If we can reflect the true picture…that’s (when) we will be successful. CEAG’s pronouncements are more credible and in-depth, especially when it is validated by the academe and a special adviser and further validated by DTI and Neda,” said CCCI president Edward Gaisano.

He stressed, though, that CEAG will only tackle issues that are of general concern to the Cebu business community and which impact on the overall business climate and economy of Cebu.

“It does not negate each chamber’s advocacy or supplants the chamber. We are just finding the common denominator of the different chambers by uniting together the issues common to all members,” he said.

He added that some aspects of labor, especially with labor flexibility being a raging issue amid the global financial crisis, can be discussed by the group.

As a start, CEAG sent out questionnaires to more than a thousand individuals who are members of the different chambers to determine their sentiments and outlook for 2009. Results of the survey will be presented next month.

Filed under: Business , cebu, Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Cebu Economic Advisory Group

Cebu’s location a plus

Sun.Star Cebu <> Thursday, Jan. 22, 2008

BY NANCY R. CUDIS, Sun.Star Staff Reporter

TOURISM stakeholders remain optimistic about Cebu’s tourism industry this year amid reports of a slowdown in the travel market in some parts of the world due to the global financial crisis.

This optimism can be attributed to Cebu’s “strategic geographical location” and availability of more flights to neighboring provinces and Asian regions.

Charles Lim, special tourism envoy for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), said that despite the economic slowdown, Cebu’s “greater accessibility” to other areas is increasing the province’s tourism potential this year.

“Cebu would be a hub for tourists who want to go to Boracay, Davao, Cagayan and even some parts of Luzon without them having to go to Manila,” he told Sun.Star Cebu.

He added that Cebu is also becoming an ideal point for travelers who want to go to Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and other destinations in the Asean region.

To be able to continue tapping this potential—especially during the economic slowdown—Lim advised hotels, resorts and tour operators to aggressively market their destinations to specific target sectors.

Sites, events

In response, the members of Cebu Association of Tour Operators (Cato) is planning to go around domestic destinations this year to check out the latest events and products that they can help promote to both local and foreign visitors.

“We want a hands-on experience. We have to see the destination so that we’ll know what to sell. If we have inquiries from international people, we can tell them that they can come to Cebu and have a side trip to Cagayan de Oro and then go to Dipolog, for example,” said newly-inducted Cato president Zenaida Chua.

She disclosed that about 16 travel agents will be going to Dipolog City in Zamboanga del Norte next month. They are coordinating with the tourism office of Northern Mindanao for a possible trip there by March.

Chua, also managing director of Worldwide Travel and Tours Inc., said that local tour operators’ promotions are limited by packages that include Cebu, Bohol, Boracay and some neighboring areas. Cato wants to expand its offers to include activities in other provinces like sightseeing in Davao and whitewater rafting in Cagayan de Oro.

She said that despite concerns of several tourists over expensive hotel costs, her group maintains a positive outlook this year and hopes for an increase in tourist arrivals coming to Cebu. They observed that Americans, Europeans, Koreans and Japanese continue to visit the province.

Cato is also anticipating an increase in domestic travelers this summer as the group keeps on encouraging families to visit local destinations first before heading to other countries for vacation.

Filed under: Business , cebu

Cebu X tries to establish domestic market among RP hotels, condos

Sun.Star Cebu <> Thursday, Jan. 22, 2008

BY NANCY R. CUDIS, Sun.Star Staff Reporter

WITH the forecast growth in the property development and tourism industries in the country, organizers of the Cebu International Furniture and Furnishings Exhibition (Cebu X) are inviting developers, hotels and resorts to the show that is set to open in March.

“Condominiums are rising fast in the central business areas, ready to be furnished with furniture and accessories. Hotels and resorts, sprouting around the country, also open domestic opportunities to fill in orders of the (furniture) companies,” said Angela Paulin, Cebu Furniture Industries Foundation (CFIF) vice-president for internal affairs.

CFIF, a support organization of furniture manufacturers and exporters in the Philippines, organizes the annual Cebu X.

Tapping opportunities in the domestic market is one of the “survival strategies” identified by CFIF to help Cebu X exhibitors cope with the present economic slowdown.

The other strategies include strengthening core competence in design and innovation; craftsmanship through the design and product development program that involves design mentorship student internship; materials manipulation program, and; Mugna Awards competition.

More buyers

“Cebu X aims to bring in not only buyers to the event but also the prestigious groups of interior designers, stylists, facility managers, architects and industry opinion makers to expose them to the latest material innovation and superb designs that they can impress and recommend to their emerging design-conscious clients,” said Paulin.

However, the number of Cebu X pre-registered buyers from “all over the world” declined by 30 percent from last year, said CFIF executive director Ruby Babao-Salutan.

Cebu X marketing head Cheryl Judilla said in a separate interview early this month that there are already 153 pre-registered buyers coming from the international market.

Salutan stressed, though, that from their experience, many buyers would not pre-register but would just come to the show.

“The furniture companies should be ready for these buyers who travel (several) hours to get here and see the products,” said CFIF president Eric Casas.

Fewer exhibitors

This year’s exhibitors also slumped to 56 that will occupy 1,740 square meters of space, compared to last year’s 85 exhibitors, which used 2,784 square meters.

Paulin said this is a 34 percent and 38 percent decline in participation and space occupied, respectively.

With the registration for the exhibit still ongoing, CFIF hopes for an increase in the number of exhibitors.

“This show, although small in terms of size and exhibitors, would be exciting because it will happen simultaneously with Creative Cebu and it will feature the best products since companies have done a lot of explorations in design to cope with the crisis,” Salutan said.

Meanwhile, CFIF vice-president for external affairs Charles Streegan said the domestic market is a “welcome addition” to the list of markets that can help the furniture industry. But he added that domestic demand is not big enough to sustain the industry’s growth.

When asked if prices of products sold to local buyers would be lower than exports, he said that the prices would depend on market forces and on individual company production.

Casas pointed out that Cebu furniture products are not the cheapest in the international market as local companies always maintain quality and innovation.

Streegan said Cebu X buyers, who are also experiencing difficult market conditions, are continuously looking for “the next best thing, (as well as) something different.”

Filed under: Business , Cebu Furniture Industries Foundation (CFIF), furniture

N. Mindanao eyes Cebu’s tourists

Sun.Star Cebu <> Friday, Jan. 23, 2008

BY NANCY R. CUDIS, Sun.Star Staff Reporter

THE Northern Mindanao Region is eyeing Cebu’s accessibility to other provinces as a way to increase the number of visitors coming into its tourist destinations.

Last Thursday, the region opened an exhibit at the pre-departure area of the Mactan Cebu International Airport, featuring the different sites and packages offered by Northern Mindanao.

“We are planning to increase our share of the tourists coming in to Cebu. In my opinion, we (currently) get 10 percent of the tourists who would come to Cebu and eventually visit our sites,” said DOT 10 director Catalino Chan.

He noted that tourists spend less in Cebu than in Manila. For Region 10, this means that tourists would still have strong spending power when they decide to visit neighboring areas, like Cagayan de Oro.

Cebuano visitors

Chan noted that Northern Mindanao, which he describes as safe with very low criminality rate, has an average annual hotel occupancy rate of 84 percent.

About 23 percent of Region 10’s tourists are Cebuanos while the rest include other domestic travelers, especially coming from Manila and Bacolod. The region’s foreign tourists include Koreans and Americans, among others.

“(Most) of them are repeaters so they are not afraid of advisories because they know it is safe there (Northern Mindanao),” Chan said.

He also noted that several local private companies would sign up for Cagayan de Oro’s whitewater rafting activities for teambuilding purposes.

Region 10, which is comprised of five provinces (Camiguin, Misamis Oriental, Misamis Occidental, Lanao del Norte and Bukidnon) boasts of natural attractions, like caves, wildlife and other eco-tourism sites.

“We are the fifth biggest tourist destination in 2007 in terms of domestic and foreign arrivals. We don’t have an international airport yet but we only have a small difference in arrivals compared to Davao,” Chan said.

He disclosed that Northern Mindanao will soon have a international airport by 2010 and a convention center that can accommodate 5,000 people. Both facilities will be based in Cagayan de Oro.

ALL PHOTOS BY NANCY R. CUDIS/nrcportfolio.wordpress.com

Filed under: Business , cebu, tourism

‘Retrenchment a fact’

Sun.Star Cebu <> Thursday, January 22, 2009

BY NANCY R. CUDIS, Sun.Star Staff Reporter

AS the local furniture industry expects further contraction in its export performance this year, the Cebu Furniture Industries Foundation (CFIF) appeals to its remaining members to improve their business and institutional programs to make them “stronger and leaner.”

“Speculations have inflicted fear in what lies ahead. We can either watch ourselves go down or brave the storm. (So) we implemented programs that will enable furniture companies to become competitive,” said CFIF president Eric Casas.

In a press conference yesterday at the Cebu City Sports Club, Casas cited some strategies, including retrenchment of workers, installation of more subcontractors, temporary closure, compressed working days, work rotation and more aggressive marketing, to enable companies to cope with the slowdown.

The industry group attributes the slowdown to various factors, including the global financial crisis, high freight costs in Asia, strong competition with other Asian countries, difficulty in sourcing of raw materials due to high costs, high cost of importation and lack of business support or incentives from the government.

Without stating figures, CFIF is bracing for more possible retrenchments this year.

Recovery

“Retrenchment is a fact. (Economic recovery) could take 10 months to another year. That’s (already) being hopeful. The Philippines is dependent on the US that has the volume of our sales but the US now is in recession so recovery could take a while,” said CFIF vice-president for internal affairs Angela Paulin.

CFIF is closely coordinating with the Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) in the implementation of livelihood programs for workers.

CFIF reported that in 2007, 5,000 workers were laid-off from 42 member-companies that shut down. In 2008, some 6,800 workers lost jobs, about 4,300 of which were retrenched by 28 companies that were downsizing their work force while the rest belonged to 25 firms that ceased to operate.

“In a span of one and a half years, about 11,800 or more workers have been laid off. These are regular workers. We cannot account for the subcontractors,” said Casas.

With several furniture companies closing shop, the CFIF recorded 124 remaining active members as of this month.

Thining membership

In 2007, the industry group had 183 members, which declined to 141 when 42 companies closed shop in June of that year. A year later, eight new members were registered. Last month, though, 25 more companies folded up.

Casas noted that in a span of one and a half years, 37 percent of CFIF’s members closed shop.

CFIF executive director Ruby Babao-Salutan disclosed that some of the remaining active members are in the process of retrenching.

“Keeping tabs of how much employees the furniture industry has now is difficult because the contraction is so quick and fast,” she said.

CFIF vice-president for external affairs Charles Streegan also said that the group “feels strongly” that its export performance or shipment will decline by at least 30 percent this year due to contraction of huge economies like the United States and Japan, which are also among Cebu’s biggest furniture markets.

Streegan pointed out, though, that economic data suggests that global economic recovery will occur in 2010. CFIF hopes, though, that the global economy will rebound in the third quarter of this year.

Citing figures from the Bureau of Customs, Casas said the Cebu furniture export performance posted an 18-percent decline from January to November 2008, compared to the year-ago level.

Streegan advised furniture industry players to communicate to their workers and customers the real state of their companies and of the industry, to offer solutions to buyers who are clamoring for better products. He also urged them to focus on product design and innovation.

Contact details:

Cebu Furniture Industries Foundation, Inc. (CFIF)

North Road, Jagobiao, 6014, Mandaue City, Philippines

Tel No: (63-32) 4228083, 4207109

Filed under: Business , cebu, export, furniture