AMID the health restrictions posed at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, Cagayan de Oro City’s hotel and restaurant industries pulled through, showing their resilience and dedication to serving the public.
During last Friday’s Hala Kumbira Food Festival event, Regional Director Marie Elaine Unchuan of the Department of Tourism (DOT-10) lauded the city’s hotel and restaurant industries along with the stakeholders for ‘sticking it out’ despite the difficulties faced during the pandemic.
“I know the pandemic had been hard on the tourism industry especially the hotels and restaurants but (thankfully we all) really pulled through,” she said.
A prelude to the 2023 Kumbira Festival scheduled on Oct. 11 to 13 at the Limketkai Mall Atrium, last Friday’s Hala Kumbira Food Festival was graced by students of the city’s culinary schools and stakeholders in the city’s hotel and restaurant sector.
In her message, Unchuan said the Kumbira, now in its 27th year, is a testament to the dedication of the Kagay-anon hotel and restaurant industries to serve the public.
“Our stakeholders were resilient and really hung on until tourism (recovered) and now we’re seeing ‘revenge travel’ (making up after the end to health restrictions) is back and we’re happy that the hotels and restaurants are full. And now we have this grand celebration of Kumbira that we’re looking forward to,” Unchuan said, adding that the DOT-10 will always be supportive of the Kumbira Festival for helping shape Cagayan de Oro City’s tourism industry.
Aside from a culinary competition featuring 10 barangays — Barangay 12, Bonbon, Lapasan, Patag, Camaman-an, Kauswagan, Bulua, Consolacion, Cugman, and Nazareth — who were challenged to cook their version of chicken humba (stewed chicken), Hala Kumbira also launched the 1st Mindanao Coffee Festival, one of several events to be included in the Kumbira Festival in October.
Cohara President Jeffrey Limbonhai said Hala Kumbira serves as a venue for barangays to showcase their culinary skills to the public.
For her part, Cohara Vice President Eileen San Juan said the second Kumbira is dedicated to the students who make up the bulk of their audience.
“People know that Kumbira is held during the city fiesta…With the Hala Kumbira, we hope (to forge new) partnerships with the barangays…and the second is dedicated to our students due to the change in the school calendar,” San Juan said. (Stephen Capillas of City Information Office)
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