The town of San Vicente in Palawan is positioning itself to become the country’s newest surfing destination with the holding of its first surf competition and Surf Festival (SanVicSurf) in on February 20-23 which is expected to attract more tourists, especially surfers to this town.
Other surfing destinations in the country include Siargao in northeastern Mindanao, La Union in Ilocos region, Baler in Aurora province in Luzon, among others.
By becoming the newest surfing spot, influx of both foreign and domestic tourists are expected in San Vicente, which is also one of the country’s tourism economic zones.
Tonino Habana, one of the founders of SanVicSurf, and president of the UniTEA said that surfing activity will now become the town’s newest attraction, aside from its 14-kilometer-longest stretch of white beach in the Philippines.
“Baka ito yung maging attraction para sa pagdami ng turista sa San Vicente. Because of the nature of the coves and the nature of the waves mas madaling matuto ng surfing sa Alimanguan,” he said.
The event spearheaded by the SanVicSurf, United Tourism Enterprise Association of San Vicente (UniTEA) is supported by the municipal government of San Vicente, Barangay Alimanguan, and the stakeholders.
He said that the surfing community in the country is excited of this new surfing spot, Alimanguan in San Vicente.
He explained that during the first day of the event, while the participants are still practicing and trying the waves, the local government and the barangay have prepared activities such as showcasing indigenous games, food and delicacies during the evening, and other activities.
“Ito ay ang pag-showcase ng barangay ang mga traditional games like palo sebo, karera ng carabao. Barangay is very creative in these games. During the night nandyan ang food festival to showcase yung Barangay Alimanguan food, like kakanin, seafood, etc,” Habana explained.
He further said that to protect, protection and conservation of the environment, part of the event is a coastal clean-up activity. A surfer caught littering and throwing his trash elsewhere will be disqualified. They assure the public that they will also protect the area which is a sea turtle nesting place.
Aside from cash, the prizes for the competition will be electric motorcycles provided by Star 8, the international electronic vehicle manufacturer.
The LGU announced that their municipal council will pass an ordinance institutionalizing the Surfing event, while the barangay council of Alimanguan has enacted an ordinance declaring the month of February as surfing month.
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