By: KATLENE O. CACHO - Sunstar Cebu Published: September 4, 2020 Full Article: Cebu City falls to 15th spot in 2020 Tholons ranking Snippets: FROM its 12th ranking in 2019, Cebu City fell to the 15th spot in the 2020 Tholons Services Globalization Index (TSGI). Released in July, this year’s Tholons report placed higher emphasis on digital innovation attributes and assessment of how the various cities and countries have managed and are winning over the global crisis during the pandemic. According to Tholons managing director Avinash Vashistha, these new criteria resulted in five new high-cost cities from the west surpassing Cebu City’s ranking. These five new western cities ahead of Cebu City are San Francisco, London, New York, Sydney and Vancouver. “This year we changed the assessment and put a significant emphasis on digital. So there is a greater emphasis on artificial intelligence (AI), intelligent automation and innovation. ... We know you were ranked 12 and now 15. However, seven of the cities (Delhi, Hyderabad, Krakow, Poland, Chennai, Montevideo, Santiago) that were in the Top 15 have now dropped below 15. Cebu has only dropped by three, which means the city has a net improvement based on the last year’s list. This is going to become even tougher as more and more western cities who are leading in innovation even though they are more expensive will continue to be a larger part of the cloud-based services industry,” said Vashistha, in his email to Cebu IT-BPM (information technology-business process management) Organization (Cib.O) former managing director Wilfredo Sa-a, Jr. Manila also suffered a setback this year from ranking second in last year’s list to fourth this year. India’s Bangalore though has maintained its rank as the top super city in the Tholons list. Moroever, the Philippines as country sustained its fifth spot in the Top 50 Digital Nations ranking, after the UK (4th), Brazil (3rd), the US (2nd) and India (1st). The TSGI, which is published annually, ranks the Top 100 “Super Cities” and Top 50 “Digital Nations.” The index evaluates ranks and provides location strategies to multinational corporations, countries, governments, multi-lateral agencies, analysts and investors.
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CCTO: LEISURE TOURISM. The almost five months of strict lockdown has stalled resort operations in the town of Cordova. But with the downgrade to modified general community quarantine and the reopening of tourism, Solea Mactan Cebu is anticipating more local tourists to stay in its property while complying with safety and health protocol imposed by the government. (SunStar file) By: Sunstar Cebu Published: September 3, 2020 Full Article: Solea Mactan reopens resort, rooms on sale Snippets: BATTERED by the lingering effects of Covid-19, Solea Mactan Cebu is reopening its facilities and putting its rooms on sale to attract local tourists. The eight-hectare property is one of the resort properties that heeded the call of the Cordova local government to reopen its doors to kickstart tourism activities. “We are soft-reopening for now. Hopefully by October we will see better market conditions. We will be fully opened,” said general manager Christopher Benjamin Gothong. Solea Hotel Cebu has about three hotel brands with over 500 rooms inside the sprawling property, namely Solea Seaview (63 rooms), Solea Mactan Cebu (225 rooms) and Solea Palms (254 rooms). At P2,888 per room per night from Monday to Thursday at Solea Mactan Cebu, guests can enjoy both the beach and the amenities of the resort. “We are opening Solea Mactan Cebu for now, but as soon as things get better we will open the two other buildings,” he said. According to Gothong, the resort property was supposed to open its waterpark amenity this year, but was put on hold due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The group was also scheduled to open its Bohol property in Panglao Island. “The pandemic has halted tourism activities,” said Gothong. The halt of international travel and the closing of borders to prevent the spread of Covid-19 have wreaked havoc on tourism. Some hoteliers in Cebu have been forced to temporarily close business while others operate on a limited scale. |
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