Tourist arrivals in the city considerably improved last June but remained below the city’s target of 3,000 a day.
Records of the City Tourism Office showed a total arrival of 12,030 visitors for June which according to City Tourism Operations Officer Aloysius Mapalo is a “big jump” from the previous months of April with a measly 515 and May with 2,189.
Mayor Benjamin Magalong said that the daily tourist data was below the city’s target of 3,000 tourists daily even during weekends.
“We were looking at reducing our target number of visitors as a contingency measure against the possible surge in cases due to increased mobility and the threat of the Delta variant but our the numbers are still low and are still manageable so we will just continue to monitor but we will be more strict in our border protocols,” the mayor said.
Data from the Baguio VIS.I.T.A. (Visitor Information and Travel Assistant), the city’s online registration system for Baguio tourists and travellers, showed a big disparity between the number of travel requests and actual arrivals.
For June, the city received more than 40,000 requests but the actual arrival was only 12,030.
“But this is a big jump from the previous month. Obviously, Manila tourists brought in the number for June,” Mapalo observed.
The city began accepting tourists from the National Capital Region Plus when prohibitions were lifted starting June 1.
It hoped to perk up the industry by waiving the test requirement for fully vaccinated individuals starting July 5.
Magalong however assured that precautionary measures will continue to be implemented to avoid transmissions.
The city’s economy heavily relies on tourism that is why incessant efforts are exerted to gradually and safely open the industry but with strict adherence to the implementation of minimum health protocols.