Cebu (CNN Philippines, March 17) — In a bid to bring back tourists, Bohol launched the two-month long “Saulog Tagbilaran” Festival on March 16, after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This year’s festivities which Tagbilaran City Mayor Jane Yap said would be the grandest ever include street dancing, dragon boat racing, food fairs, and other activities in a buildup to the religious feast of Saint Joseph on May 1.
\”Now that we are back to face-to-face activities, this is our avenue to promote the tourism industry of Bohol and our beloved City of Tagbilaran. So we are inviting all our guests from all over the world, we are now celebrating Saulog Tagbilaran Festival,\” Yap said.
She said that local tourism was slowly recovering. Data from the Tagbilirans’s tourism office estimated that 80% of tourist activities in the city were back to normal and that arrivals were still rising.
During the Thursday launch, a wreath-laying ceremony was held to commemorate the 458th anniversary of the \”Blood Compact\” between Spain’s Miguel Lopez de Legazpi and Bohol’s Rajah Sikatuna.
