Despite booking cancellations and a sharp decline in hotel occupancy, Cebu remains safe and open to visitors following the strong earthquakes in September and the subsequent aftershocks.
Tourism secretary Christina Garcia Frasco said that “tourism infrastructure remains stable” and that most tourism sites and accommodation across Cebu and the Central Visayas region “have already been inspected and declared structurally sound by authorities”.
A hotel general manager told TTG Asia that many hotels in Cebu are seeing cancellations for room and event bookings through the first quarter of 2026, due to the earthquakes and, more recently, Typhoon Kalmaegi, which struck Cebu and other parts of the Visayas and Mindanao.
Data from CoStar, a global provider of real estate data and analytics, showed that Cebu hotels’ average occupancy fell by 10.41 per cent to 47.1 per cent between October 1 and 26, compared with 52.6 per cent over the same period last year.
Even before the September 30 earthquake, hotel occupancy in Cebu had been declining, averaging 50.2 per cent for the month.
The hotel general manager remains optimistic that Cebu will recover next year, citing eased visa restrictions for tourists from China, India and Taiwan, as well as the launch of more international flights to Cebu.
With less than three months before Cebu hosts the ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF), TRAVEX and the ASEAN Tourism Ministers’ Meeting from January 25 to 30, 2026, Frasco told TTG Asia that Cebu is “absolutely ready”.
“We have been coordinating for several months now. I am very grateful to all of our local stakeholders because they have also done their own preparations. I know that the hotels and resorts have made sure that quality and service are top notch as they have always been in Cebu, and our local government units are being cooperative.
She added: “We’re expecting a lot of foreign buyers. We are working with (the Department of Tourism’s marketing arm) Tourism Promotions Board to organise the TRAVEX.”
