ALUBIJID, MIASAMIS ORIENTAL— When people’s movement is limited, business especially tourism sags, but not this town along the western coastline of Misamis Oriental. It has struck gold recently with its booming tourism sector, thanks largely to the newest tourism destination in town- their floating cottages anchored offshore.
Balsa (floating cottages) Alubijid is just four months old tourism site but it has grown twice within that period. The floating cottages now attract close to 15 thousand tourists a month since its launch in November 2020.
Gene Harvey Busiños, Alubijid Tourism Officer said that their Mangrove Boardwalk Ecotourism Park in Barangay Baybay used to have an average tourist of just under 20 people a day. The boardwalk is made of bamboo stilts and platforms, which allows people to enter the Mangrove some 200 meters inside.
Just a stone’s throw away are some fish cages that have cottages for shelter. Daily tourists asked if they can stay at the fish cages but were denied access. “This is when the idea of making Balsa available to people who wants to dip in the waters of Alubijid.
THE BIRTH OF BALSA
Busiños said that one enterprising barangay official constructed a floating cottage that can be rented. “What happened then was the growth of this new industry here, people are starting to take notice of the floating cottages,” Busiños said.
In November 2020, the municipal council of Alubijid passed a resolution allowing the operation of 40 Balsa, by December, that number was quickly filled up.
Armando Magdugo, a fisherman works part-time as a construction foreman of the Balsa, churning out 1 Balsa every week. There are now 30 fishermen who work on the shoreline, constructing Balsa commissioned by local businessmen.
“We only allow people from our town to invest in Balsa, that way, businesses are homegrown,” Busiños said.
By the end of 2020, just a month into the opening of Balsa, Barangay Baybay logged in 13 thousand tourists, each paying 10 pesos as an entrance fee.
By January, the Balsa logged in 14 thousand tourists. “It became apparent to us that we need more cottages to accommodate the influx of tourists, as there were more people coming in that we can accommodate,” Busiños said.
In February 2021, the municipal council amended their Ordinance, adding 60 more cottages to their growing tourist attraction. By March 2021, there are now 80 cottages and it already recorded 15 thousand tourists a week before the month ends.
Busiños said that the town already earned 1 million pesos from Balsa in its 4 months of operation. “The cottages rate are 3,500.00 per day on weekdays, 4 thousand on weekends and holidays,” Busiños said.
Barangay Baybay charges 10 pesos per person for the entrance fee, while the town collects an environmental fee. “From business registration to the fees we collected, we already earned 1 million pesos in 4 months,” Busiños said.
Busiños said that since his appointment as Municipal Tourism Officer in 2018, his office only gets a 100 thousand pesos budget for operations, “Now we need to get a supplemental budget as we are growing our tourism industry,” Busiños said.
At the coastline of Barangay Baybay, downstream businesses are sprouting like mushrooms. Restaurants have opened; T-shirts and beachwear stores are growing. Kayaking, paddle boarding, and rental of life vest are thriving. A store selling arts and crafts also opened with its ref magnets selling out like hotcakes.
Fisherman Jimmy Buna and his family are now directly selling his catch to tourists or at restaurants. “I fish at night, my wife sells my catch on the coast while I do some carpentry jobs constructing Balsa,” Buna said.
Buna added that this is a lot easier than having his wife vends his catch in town which is 3 kilometers away. “We are getting extra income and it is easier for my wife,” Buna said.
“We are now doing an inventory of how many people are now directly or indirectly earning from this booming industry,” Busiños said.
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AND SAFETY
The Municipal Environment office is strictly monitoring the leftover and garbage of the tourists and make sure that they do not throw it away on the waters.
Busiños said that each cottage renter is tasked with taking in their garbage with them when they are done with their beach activities. “Before they can board the Banca that will take them to their rented cottages, the representative of the cottage will brief them on the rules while they are at sea,” Busiños said.
The Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) will meet with Balsa operators on Thursday, March 25 to train them on the responsibilities of the operators while the Philippine Coast Guard has trained several lifeguards and the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction Office on high water rescue.
For Busiños, their growth in the tourism industry is something that the local government unit and the townsfolk will have to capitalize in order to promote growth.
“We now really need to have our own Tourism Development Plan, as we are expecting tourism to grow more and we have lots of potentials,” Busiños said.
Balsa sa Alubijid lies 31 kilometers from the Misamis Oriental Provincial Capitol in Cagayan de Oro City.-BOBBY LAGSA
