Sinulog Dance Festival: Its Job Creation, Economic and Business Significance to the Hospitality and Tourism Industries of the Province of Cebu, Philippines

Sinulog is a dance ritual in honor of the miraculous image of the Santo Nino. The dance moves to the sound of the drums and this resembles the current of what was then known as Cebu’s Pahin River. The word Sinulog comes from the Cebuano adverb “sulog” which roughly means like water current movement; it describes the forward-backward movement of the Sinulog dance. The dance consists of two steps forward and one step backward, done to the sound of drums. The dance is categorized into Sinulog base, Free-Interpretation, and street dancing. Candle vendors at the Basilica continue to perform the traditional version of the dance when lighting a candle for the customer, usually accompanied by songs in the native language This qualitative ethnographic research study aimed to evaluate the economic and business significance of the Sinulog Festival to the general performance of profitability of the hospitality and tourism industries in the province of Cebu, Philippines. The methods used for research field work were participant observation, interview and participation was a technique used to maintain the balance between both an insider and outsider point of view. The study shows that the Sinulog festival boosts the Cebu’s economy and has great significance to the overall business and profitable impact to the economy. The study was conducted from January 2013 to February 2014.