About Us

Kuya Ely Tours and Transport Services is your local partner for island tours and private transfers around Cebu, Bohol, Siquijor, and Dumaguete.

Book a Tour

Our Story

From the driver’s seat
to a life of purpose.

Before Kuya Ely Tours became a growing travel and transport company, there was a driver who simply wanted to give his family a better life.

What started behind the steering wheel would eventually become a story of survival, faith, entrepreneurship, and giving back.

Discover Ely’s Journey

Ely Boy Sumaya, founder of Kuya Ely Tours and Transport Services — **ELY BOY SUMAYA** Founder · Kuya Ely Tours & Transport Services
Powered by ES Happy Tours

Every business has a beginning. Ours started behind the wheel.

Long before he became the founder of Kuya Ely Tours and Transport Services, Ely Boy Sumaya already knew what it meant to serve travelers.

From 2003 to 2006, Ely worked as a rent-a-car driver in Bohol, bringing tourists to destinations around the island. It was more than simply driving.

Through those years, he learned how to guide visitors, communicate with guests, understand what travelers needed, and make every journey more enjoyable. Those early experiences quietly developed the skills that would later become the foundation of his own Cebu travel and transport company.

The years that shaped him

When ₱300 had to last an entire week

Ely eventually moved to Cebu and worked as a company driver. By then, he already had two children and a growing family to support.

His weekly income was around ₱2,000. After sending most of it home, there were weeks when only around ₱300 remained for his own food, transportation, and daily expenses.

Stopping was never an option. He later became a taxi driver. To earn enough, there were times when he worked almost 24 hours, surviving on short naps before going back behind the wheel.

His goal was simple: provide for his family, pay the bills, and somehow build a better tomorrow.

₱300 Sometimes, this was all that remained for Ely’s entire weekly allowance.

Then everything fell apart.

One of the hardest chapters of Ely’s life came while he was driving a taxi. According to Ely, payments he had been making for his taxi boundary were entrusted to a collector. Later, records for 52 rental days could no longer be accounted for.

The taxi operator demanded payment. Ely insisted that the payments had already been made, but the dispute eventually cost him his job. Finding another taxi company willing to accept him became extremely difficult.

Suddenly, the man who had spent years working day and night found himself with almost nothing. There were days when Ely had no permanent place to stay. At his lowest point, he sometimes stayed near or beneath a bridge and depended on fellow taxi drivers who would spare a few pesos to help him survive.

One banana cue could be enough to keep me going for the day.
— Ely Boy Sumaya

Still, he kept applying for work. He kept praying. And he kept moving.

One opportunity was all he needed.

After days of looking for work, another rent-a-car company gave Ely an opportunity to drive again. The work was not immediately easy. Bookings were limited and income remained uncertain.

Then another door opened. Ely was hired by Sta. Catalina Taxi Company. That opportunity would become one of the turning points of his life.

Tourism around Mactan was growing. JPark Island Resort was becoming one of Cebu’s well-known resorts, and Maribago in Lapu-Lapu City had become especially popular among Korean visitors.

Ely saw an opportunity. Instead of simply waiting for passengers, he started talking to tourists and offering transportation to Cebu’s popular destinations.

Because of his years driving tourists in Bohol, Ely was already more than a driver. He knew how to become a driver-tour guide. He knew how to entertain guests, make people comfortable, and sell an experience.

He didn’t wait for opportunity. He learned how to create it.

Ely began creating his own tour packages. He personally wrote itineraries, offered trips to tourists, coordinated transportation, and built relationships with guests.

His natural marketing and sales ability helped him stand out. Tourists began remembering him. Guests started recommending him. More bookings followed.

Little by little, the driver who once struggled to keep a few hundred pesos for himself began building something of his own.

Every guest became more than a passenger. Every successful trip became another step forward.

The blessings started to grow.

For Ely, success was not first measured by luxury. One of the milestones he remembers most was finally being able to have electricity installed at his family home in Siquijor.

It was a simple thing to some people. For Ely, it represented progress — years of driving, sacrificing, saving, and surviving beginning to produce something permanent for his family.

As bookings increased, Ely started renting vehicles and reinvesting the money back into the business. He worked with partners, continued serving travelers, and slowly expanded his operations.

Then came another major milestone.

2016

The first vehicle.

In 2016, Ely acquired his first vehicle unit for the business and secured his own transport franchise.

The driver who once depended on somebody else’s vehicle was now beginning to build his own fleet. This became the foundation for what would eventually grow into:

Kuya Ely Tours and Transport ServicesPowered by ES Happy Tours

The road so far

A journey, not a straight line.

2003–2006 · Bohol

Worked as a rent-a-car driver and developed his early driver-tour guide skills.

Cebu

Moved to Cebu and worked as a company driver while supporting his growing family.

Taxi years

Worked long hours as a taxi driver, sometimes nearly around the clock, to provide for his family.

The lowest point

After a major boundary-payment dispute, Ely lost his taxi job and struggled to find another opportunity.

Second chance

Returned to rent-a-car driving and later joined Sta. Catalina Taxi Company.

Tourism opportunity

Started offering Cebu tours to tourists staying around Mactan and Maribago.

Entrepreneurship

Created and marketed his own tour packages and began building a loyal guest base.

2016

Acquired his first vehicle for the business and secured his transport franchise.

Today

Kuya Ely Tours & Transport Services, powered by ES Happy Tours, has grown into an established travel and transport operation with approximately 30 team members supporting its services.

30 Team members supporting the journey

From one driver to a growing team.

Today, Ely Boy Sumaya’s journey looks very different from the days when a single banana cue had to carry him through the day.

Kuya Ely Tours and Transport Services, powered by ES Happy Tours, now operates with a growing team of approximately 30 staff members supporting its travel and transport services.

What began with rented vehicles, handwritten tour offers, determination, and a driver’s knowledge of the road has grown into a recognized Cebu tour operator and transportation company serving visitors exploring Cebu and beyond.

Ely has also expanded into other business ventures. But for him, success was never meant to end with business.

Beyond business

He never forgot where he came from.

Ely remembers what it feels like to need help. He remembers having almost nothing. He remembers the people who gave him a few pesos when he needed it, and the days when food was uncertain.

Those memories became part of his purpose. As his businesses grew, Ely developed a strong commitment to helping people who were experiencing the same kinds of struggles he once faced.

Over the years, his community efforts have included feeding activities, financial assistance, support for patients and families in need, assistance for homeless individuals, charitable giving, and outreach to communities in remote and mountainous areas.

Sometimes helping means traveling far from the city. Sometimes it means giving food. Sometimes it means helping with medical needs. Sometimes it simply means showing someone that they have not been forgotten.

Success means more when you can share it.

Community feeding activity supported by Kuya Ely Tours

Volunteers packing rice, water, and relief goods

Rice packs and bottled water prepared for community relief

Relief packs of rice, water, and canned goods ready for distribution

Coming soon

Feeding, relief, and community care — a mission that continues beyond the tour.

More than tours. More than transportation.

For Ely Boy Sumaya, Kuya Ely Tours and Transport Services represents more than a company.

It represents every difficult night he kept driving. Every rejection he survived. Every passenger who trusted him. Every opportunity that arrived when he almost had nothing left.

Every employee who now earns a living through the business. Every traveler who becomes part of the Kuya Ely experience. And every person the company is now able to help because one driver refused to give up.

The business grew from transportation. The mission grew from experience.

“I know what it feels like to have almost nothing. That is why every blessing I receive is another reason to help someone else rise.”

ELY BOY SUMAYA Founder, Kuya Ely Tours & Transport Services
Powered by ES Happy Tours

“He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD.”

Proverbs 19:17 — KJV A reminder that blessings become more meaningful when they are shared.

Be part of the journey.

When you travel with Kuya Ely Tours and Transport Services, you are choosing a company built from years of experience, perseverance, service, and genuine love for people.

Explore our tours Contact us

Your Cebu story starts with someone who knows the road.