BY PROGILYN PORIO and MARVIN DOMINGUEZ/UM INTERNS
THE CITY Tourism Operations Office (CTTO) promised a stronger campaign for this year’s Duaw Dabaw, which runs for the entire month of June.
Duaw Dabaw aims to fill the gap in the second quarter, which typically doesn’t have a festival for Davao City. For instance, Araw ng Dabaw is set for the first quarter of the year, Kadayawan sa Dabaw covers the third quarter, while Pasko Fiesta is set for the fourth quarter.
City tourism officer Jennifer Romero said Duaw Dabaw has four components, which includes creating more tourism activities and establishing more tourism sites. The second one will involve music festivals in line with their plan to make June the new summer destination for Davao City, including celebrating Pride Month.
The third one is the feast of St. Peter to highlight the city’s oldest Catholic church, the San Pedro Cathedral, now considered an icon of Davao. Finally, the local government aims to help tourism-related services like malls, restaurants, and other destinations.
“All those activities during the Duaw-Davao Festival will be a prelude to the Kadayawan Festival,” Romero said during the iSpeak media forum on May 16.
She hoped the new activities would boost tourist arrivals by 50% this year. In 2023, Davao City registered around 1.3 million tourists.
