I WATCHED the Sunday morning show on ABS-CBN Davao this morning and glad to see that the white sand beach resorts of Gumasa in Glan, Sarangani Province were featured and the place was actually compared to Boracay.

Photo from http://www.sarangani.gov.ph

However, the shots taken did not show the beach in its best shape. Driftwoods were very prominent against the bright white of sand that one would think that the beach is dirty. In private beach resorts and hotels, though, the shore is clean.

The feature appeared to me like a wake up call to the tourism authorities in Sarangani–that they have a great load to do about promoting Gumasa as one of the county’s top destinations.

I admit, Gumasa is still underdeveloped. In fact, the road that leads to the resorts is still rough. Some parts of the shore are not maintained such that after heavy rains, floods carry garbage to the shore. If the province is really serious about promoting Gumasa as a tourist destination, the surroundings must be prepared for it, not only the resorts, for the convenience of the tourists. The surroundings should be kept clean all the time. Also, in developing the area, its exotic, or rural appeal should be maintained.

The resorts must also consider being enlisted in directories like HotelsCombined, including their respective rates. If possible, there must be available online reservation. Hotels in Bohol, Cebu, Boracay, Manila, and Palawan are listed on the site. Why could we not include Sarangani or GenSan in the site so that people would know that there are alternative destinations here, down south of Mindanao? All the hotel owners should do is SignUp on the site for free! As of today, none of the resorts in Gumasa offers online reservation or even online advertisement–not even in sites like hotelclub.com.

I couldn’t wait for the time that when people here Gumasa, they would no longer ask, “Where is that?” but rather, they would say, “Let’s go there!”