Department of Tourism makes Cebu as Wedding Capital for Japanese

Department of Tourism (DOT) Secretary Ace Durano plans to place Cebu at the frontlines of top wedding destinations here in the country, especially for Japanese couples.

Known as the Queen City of the South, Cebu is home to some of the best white sand beach resorts and hotels such as Shangri-La Mactan Island Resort and Spa, which has built its own wedding chapel called Ocean Pavilion and Plantation Bay Resort and Spa which offers a wedding package set underwater.

The province also has an array of historically draped churches like the Basilica Minor de Santo Niño which was built by Miguel Lopez de Legazpi and Fr. Andres Urdaneta, who took part in the Spanish expedition back in 1565. The San Jose Parish Church, known as the Chapel of the Last Supper, is the home of the only life-sized carving of the Last Supper scene of Jesus Christ and his 12 Apostles here in the Philippines.

Did You Know? Philippine Airlines flights for Osaka-Cebu are scheduled twice a week, every Thursday and Sunday departing from Kansai International Airport to arrive at Mactan International Airport. Return flights are also scheduled on the same day.Cebu Pacific meanwhile offers the trip thrice a week, every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday.

To make this more feasible, DOT has been working close hand with the Japanese Association of Travel Agents even meeting with Recruit Co. Ltd., publisher of Japanese bridal magazine called Zexy to promote Cebu along with other provinces as leisure and wedding destination.

Based on the department’s data, over 400,000 Japanese couples plan to hold their nuptial outside their country. The common wedding getaways are Hawaii and Guam. On the other hand, for the first quarter of 2008 alone, 216,000 Japanese tourists have visited the country. With such statistics plus the colorful ceremonies of Filipino weddings, Durano believes that the country can compete with these countries and offer the Philippines as another option to hold their wedding.

The secretary urges wedding coordinators, travel agencies all over the country and Visayan tour guides to come up with strategies and packages to further promote and offer the country as the new wedding haven for soon-to-be husband and wife.

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Kasal.com thanks the following sources for this article:

Cebu Pacific News. Cebu Pacific Flies Manila – Osaka. Retrieved October 8, 2008
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Dagooc, Ehda. Cebu pushed as “Wedding Destination” Retrieved October 4, 2008
http://philstar.com/archives.php?aid=20081003171&type=2

Dept. of Tourism. Visitor Arrivals to the Philippines by Country of Residence for the month of July 2008. Retrieved October 8, 2008
http://www.wowphilippines.com.ph/dot/statistics.asp

Montecillo, Paolo Luis G. PAL to restore Cebu- Osaka flights Retrieved October 8, 2008
http://bworldonline.com/BW100808/content.php?id=300#

Mozo, Malou. Manila Bulletin. DOT promoting Cebu province as ‘wedding capital’ of Asia’. Visayas section, October 8, 2008 issue

Ortiz, Margaux. RP now being pitched as wedding venue to tourists Retrieved October 7, 2008
http://globalnation.inquirer.net/news/breakingnews/view/20080914-160622/RP-now-being-pitched-as-wedding-venue-to-tourists

Reyes, Mary Ann Ll. DOT expects more Japanese tourists this year, Retrieved October 7, 2008
http://www.philstar.com/archives.php?aid=200809246&type=2