The historic Shrine City of Dapitan in Zamboanga del Norte is pushing for tourist influx as it looks forward to capitalize on the popularity of sporting events such as the Ironman Triathlon 5150 as it bids to host it on Sept. 8-10 this year for the first time.
City Mayor Seth Frederick Jalosjos visited Davao City over the weekend to set benchmarks as they planned for their own ironman event. On Sunday, March 26, Davao City successfully hosted the Alveo Ironman 70.3.
The Ironman series consists of Ironman, the behemoth of triathlon, raced over a 3.8 km. swim, 180 km. bike, and 42.2 km. run. The Ironman 70.3 consists of a 1.9 km. swim, 90 km. bike, and 21.1 km. run.
The Ironman 5150 is the shortest version of the Ironman series. The name comes from the race’s total distance equaling 51 kilometers consisting of 1.5 km. swim, 40 km. bike, and 10 km. run.
“We wanted to see how Davao City prepared to host the event in preparation for our own Ironman,” Jalosjos said.
“We want nothing but the best to both promote and market Dapitan City through holding international events, to lure international tourists to come here as participants,” Jalosjo said in a statement.
Dapitan City Tourism Officer Apple Marie Agolong said that that Dapitan is a place where there is something for everyone.
“Dapitan is also known as the place where all members of the family have something to be interested in and also a place of interest for strong heritage tourism and sports tourism enthusiasts,” Agolong said.
Agolong added that Dapitan is a hospitable and unforgettable city especially for those who love history and sports.
Dapitan previously hosted national and international events such as the national chess tournament, Mutya Ng Pilipinas, Universal Reality Combat Championship (URCC), National Drag Racing of the Philippines drag strip among others.
Kat Uyehara Hamoy, Dapitan City Events Consultant said that the Ironman Davao enlightened the Dapitan City delegation to create an equally successful Ironman 5150 event in Dapitan city.
“Join us on Sept. 8-10, 2023 in the first-ever heritage run Ironman 5150 Dapitan City, which celebrates Rizal’s legacy in the shrine city and historic Ddapitan,” Hamoy said.
Dapitan is recognized as the center of tourism in the entire Zamboanga peninsula and recognized by the Department of Tourism as the most visited city in the region due to the effective maintenance and development of its various tourism destinations including the colorful culture, and heritage of the national hero Dr. Jose Rizal and now sports tourism.
