Baguio tourism picks up

BAGUIO CITY – Tourist arrivals in this city started to pick up this month with the easing of travel restrictions in Metro Manila and nearby areas.

City tourism operations officer Aloysius Mapalo said 1,406 tourists arrived from May 31 to June 6, more than double the 535 visitors in the previous week.

From only 515 tourists in April, at least 2,169 visited the city in May.

The highest number of visitors was recorded in March at 24,295. There were 9,819 and 8,915 visitors in January and February, respectively.

“We hope to maintain and rejuvenate our tourism industry without compromising the health and safety of our people,” Mayor Benjamin Magalong said.

Magalong said the city lost more than P3.5 billion in potential income as tourist arrivals dropped to 232,000 last year compared to 1.7 million in 2019.

Visitors are still required to present a negative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction test and register through the visita.baguio.gov.ph portal.

Antigen testing for tourists is subsidized with a P1.8 million funding from the Tourism Promotions Board.