BADIAN ISLAND, Philippines, 7 May 2005 — When German Hartwig Scholz and Filipino partner Maria Catral decided to build a resort in the secluded Philippine island of Badian 23 years ago, television sets were not on their shopping list. The well-traveled partners said the omission was deliberate, aimed at giving guests a chance to enjoy themselves without being disturbed by the tube.
“We know that television is the No. 1 entertainment of people today,” said Catral, general manager of the luxurious Badian Island Resort & Spa, located at the southwestern tip of Cebu province, 600 kilometers south of Manila.
“But people need time to enjoy themselves, so there are no television sets in all our rooms,” she added. “For those who really need to watch something on the television, we have one TV-video room in the resort.”
Catral noted that in the resort’s history, only one couple had cut short their stay because their room was missing a television.
“Other guests thank us for it, especially those with children,” she said.
Badian Island Resort & Spa is one of numerous resorts in Cebu province, dubbed as the Philippines’ “Queen of the South,” where tourists can choose from a wide variety of destinations and things to do during their vacation.
To the north, the offshore islands of Malapascua and Bantayan are havens for beach-lovers and backpackers, while the western island of Olango, home to a wildlife sanctuary, is a favorite destination for bird-watchers and divers.
Cebu City, a younger and less chaotic version of Manila, offers dozens of places to visit, including the country’s oldest church in the downtown area and a museum housing artifacts retrieved from a sunken Spanish galleon. A must-see in the city is the Taoist Temple, where the teachings and philosophy of the 600 B.C. Chinese thinker Lao-Tze are preserved. Visitors have to climb 99 steps to reach the temple, where they can even have their fortunes read.
For those tired of the busy city life and looking for a boost, Badian Island is an ideal getaway, surrounded by crystal blue waters, a panoramic mountain view, lush greeneries and a cool sea breeze throughout the day.
Badian also hosts Cebu’s “best nature attraction” — the 20-meter Kawasan Waterfalls, where tourists can take a cool splash as well as enjoy a fascinating jungle trek through diverse tropical vegetation and wildlife, including butterflies, monkeys and lizards.
Scholz said he and Catral discovered the island by accident. “It was not on the map,” he said. “We just passed by it while driving on the mainland. Suddenly, we saw white sands. It was perfect.”
The partners, however, lamented that tourism in the province has not fully recovered from a slump in 2000, when Abu Sayyaf rebels abducted 21 mostly European tourists from Malaysia and held them hostage for months in the southern Philippines.
The kidnapping of 20 vacationers, including three Americans, by the Abu Sayyaf from a resort in the western Philippine province of Palawan in 2001, a series of terrorist attacks, and political uncertainties aggravated the situation. “It’s been very difficult,” Scholz said. “We lost a lot of clients from our European market, especially because of safety issues.”
Catral noted that before 2000, up to 60 percent of the resort’s guests were German-speaking Europeans. “The face of our guests has really changed,” she said. “Now, we have more Asians, mostly South Koreans and Chinese. We haven’t really recovered, especially in the European market.”
But things started to pick up last December, following the tsunami disaster that affected tourist destinations in neighboring Thailand and Indonesia. “We are getting Europeans again,” Catral said. “Also, we get a lot through the Internet. We now have 12 percent bookings through the Internet.”
The eight-hectare, high-end resort boasts of three types of spa, a protected coral garden and a swift but spectacular sunset view. It also has a swimming pool, a children’s playground and a well-equipped diving centre.
Anthony Leger, manager of the resort’s dive center, said 14 great diving spots were accessible from Badian, with the farthest just one hour away. Leger, an American who migrated to Cebu 23 years ago, said the coral reefs around Badian are the main attraction for divers who are “always amazed at how they are still intact.”
“We have among the best diving spots around the resort,” he said. “I have probably gone on 3,000 dives already, and still I see new things in the area. One can see more in 10 minutes of being underwater here than anywhere else.”
Badian could be reached from Cebu City by land or by boat. Cebu City has an international airport and is easily accessible from the national capital, Manila. Some airlines also fly directly to Cebu from certain cities around the world, such as Singapore, Osaka, Jeddah and Doha.