Negros Oriental is now ready to accommodate Russian tourists, who are known for their penchant for good food, hospitality, adventure, diving and continuously exploring new places, reports said.
Renelyn Villegas, tourism operations officer I of the Department of Tourism in Region 7, said in a seminar on Russian lifestyle and culture yesterday in Dumaguete City that Filipinos are well-known for their hospitality and their culture, such as “bayanihan”, and Filipino cuisine.
Consul Armi Garcia of the Russian consulate said Russia is a very big market and its tourists always look for new destinations. Negros Oriental and Dumaguete City are now ready to accommodate Russian tourists and the needed infrastructure is already in place, she added.
She cited the important role of tourism key players in the plan to bring Russian visitors to the province, specifically their preferences, such as for punctuality.
Garcia encouraged hotels and resorts to have dive shops and dive masters as most of the Russian tourism market comprise diving enthusiasts. She said there is a plan to create a tourism hub for Russian visitors that will allow them to move from one island to another in Central Visayas.
The cluster will allow destination packages connecting Cebu, Bohol and Negros Oriental, Garcia added. She said another interesting feature of the Russian market is the regular chartered flights that will take their nationals directly to their destinations.
She challenged the local tourism industry to be bold and daring in promoting Negros Oriental and what it can offer to the Russian market.
Around 50 participants from the hotel industry, travel and tours, tourism offices, law enforcement and the media, attended the one-day seminar, that Garcia said, is the sixth held in the country.
