Tourists from the Ilocos Region wanting to visit the city will only be allowed entry to the country’s Undisputed Summer Capital starting October 1, 2020 towards the sure, safe and responsible opening of the local tourism industry.
Mayor Benjamin B. Magalong said the decision to move back the entry of tourists availing of the guided tours was reached to allow the city to make the needed adjustments on the technical issues on its online registration platform and observe the developments of the outbreak of the Coronavirus Disease (COVID) 2019 cases in two barangays.
However, the registration of interested visitors through the Baguio Visitors Information and Travel Assistance (VISITA) platform will continue after the same was launched Tuesday at the Baguio Convention Center (BCC) with no less than Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat serving as the guest of honor and speaker.
The city chief executive claimed the outbreak of COVID cases in Slaughterhouse Compound and Lourdes Subdivision Extension late last week was a cause of concern that compelled him to declare a hard lockdown in the said barangays to prevent the further spread of the deadly virus among the residents living in the said areas.
He stated that initially, 200 registrants in the Baguio VISITA platform can be accommodated in the city starting October 1, 2020 where the same will be assessed on a day to day basis to ascertain the capacity of the tourism industry stakeholders to handle the influx of tourists.
The Baguio VISITA online registration platform was established through the assistance of the Tourism Promotions Board (TBP), one of the attached agencies of the Department of Tourism (DOT) that is in charge of the marketing and promotions of tourism in the different parts of the country.
The mayor explained that the guidelines crafted for the opening of the local tourism industry is dynamic that could change anytime depending on the situation that may transpire in the course of time as tourists coming to the city but the primordial consideration is the safety of both the residents and the visitors.
Last September 1, 2020, local chief executives of Baguio, La Union, Pangasinan, Ilocos Sur and Ilocos Norte entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the establishment of the Baguio-Region I tourism corridor that will help in safely, cautiously and gradually opening the tourism industry as part of the overall initiative of the participating local governments to revive the economy of the said places.
The 3-phased tourism endeavor will start with interested travelers from the local governments involved in the corridor before this will be gradually and cautiously opened to visitors coming from Regions II and II and eventually opened up for tourists coming from the different parts of the country probably by the end of the year.
Magalong asserted that daytime and do-it-yourself (DIY) tours will still not be allowed during the opening of the tourism industry to avoid the possible spread of the deadly virus in the city and the places that will be visited by the tourists, thus, guided tours is the way to go in opening up the industry. By Dexter A. See