The Philippines’ Department of Tourism (DOT) expressed confidence that their upcoming One Visayas tour initiative will attract more tourists to Eastern Visayas. 

DOT regional director for the Eastern Visayas Karina Rosa Tiopes said officials and tour operators from the three regions worked to come up with a tourism programme for the three regions as part of the One Visayas initiative.

Tiopes said: “There have been exploratory meetings, and we have identified tour operators willing to do the costing as we come up with thematic tour programs for the three Visayas regions. This will be revealed in December during the One Visayas showcase in Manila.”

Diverse destinations

Officials initially identified diving sites, trails included in the UNESCO tentative list, and cultural and heritage sites for inclusion in the tour itinerary. 

The Eastern Visayas region consists of the provinces of Biliran, Eastern Samar, Leyte, Northern Samar, Samar, and Southern Leyte, and the cities of Baybay, Borongan, Calbayog, Catbalogan, Maasin, Ormoc, and Tacloban, the Eastern Visayas’ regional centre.

The region’s most popular destinations include Kalanggaman Island, San Juanico Bridge, Leyte Landing Memorial in Leyte, Sambawan Island in Biliran, diving sites in Southern Leyte, Calicoan Island in Eastern Samar, Sohoton Cave and Natural Park in Samar, and Biri Rock Formations in Northern Samar.

However, the Eastern Visayas region remains relatively under the radar compared to other tourist destinations in the Philippines, but this has changed over the past several years thanks to the growing demand for nature-centric tourism.