CEBU PHILIPPINES

Cebu is one of the most developed provinces in the Philippines, with Cebu City as the main centre of commerce, trade, education and industry in the Visayas. The United Kingdom based Condé Nast Traveler Magazine named Cebu the seventh best island destination in the Indian Ocean-Asia region in 2007, eighth best Asian-Pacific island destination in 2005, seventh in 2004 and fourth in 2009.

The patron of Cebu is the Our Lady of Guadalupe. But most of the people regard the Santo Niño de Cebu, the Holy Child Jesus as their patron saint. The statue is housed in the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño and San Nicholas de Tolentino. According to Philippine historical documents, the Santo Niño was given by the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan to the wife of the native chieftain of Cebu. The friendship is depicted in Cebu's cultural event, the Sinulog where street parades and loud drum beats preceded by a Christian mass is celebrated. Cebu has a Roman Catholic Archdiocese and has several major churches, including the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño, Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral, San Carlos Church, Santo Rosario Parish Church, San José-Recoletos Church, Sacred Heart Church and other Christian churches, as well as several other non-Catholic churches, mosque and temples.

Sinulog is a nine-day fiesta celebration in honor of Sto. Nino. The celebration entails two major activities: the religious procession on a Saturday and the grand street parade the following day. Organized by the Augustinian order, the solemn procession in Honor of the Child Jesus is basically the same manner as of the other religious processions.

Sinulog has always been fast-paced. Dancers bounce and step more often then they sway. People walk from hotspot to hotspot more often then they linger.

The Mactan-Cebu International Airport on Mactan Island has regular direct flights to Hong Kong, Singapore, Taipei (Taiwan), Busan and Seoul (South Korea), Tokyo-Narita (Japan), Kota Kinabalu and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Shanghai-Pudong (China) and Doha (Qatar). There are also direct transfer flights via the capital's NAIA that connects the city to other destinations in the world. With the number of weekly international flights to and from Mactan International Airport is increasing, a new international terminal has been proposed. The Cebu International Port is the largest and the main port of entry in Cebu and of the Region of Central Visayas.