BAGUIO CITY – The Tourism Information and Promotions Board (TIPB) is recommending to the city government of Baguio and the provincial government of Benguet to line up year-round crowd-drawing activities that will entice more foreign and local visitors to keep visiting the beautiful and scenic tourist spots in order to development a robust tourism industry for the said localities.
Domingo Ramon Enerio III, TIPB chief executive officer, said the annual conduct of the Panagbenga or the Baguio Flower Festival should not only be done in February and March but similar events should be created and implemented during the other months to ensure that there will be a consistent influx of foreign and domestic visitors to the city which is one of the prime tourist destinations in the country and to help stabilize the local economy.
“Panagbenga was already able to establish its identity as a must-see festival in the country. The next thing to do for organizers is to work out the organization of similar events that could also gain their identity and gain the same magnitude in order to have a consistent influx of tourists year-round,” Enerio stressed.
He said the presence of numerous scenic tourist spots in Baguio and Benguet is a natural pull for visitors to keep coming back to their desired places to visit but the conduct of year-round crowd drawing events will complement the continuous influx of foreign and domestic visitors in order to keep the tourism industry vibrant for the whole year.
According to Enerio, the slogan “It’s more fun in the Philippines” will be fulfilled with the active participation of local governments and the private sector as exemplified by the conduct of the Panagbenga during the months of February and March every year.
Enerio said since the slogan was launched years ago, key areas in the country have created activities to make the tag line work for them, ushering in more arrivals in their destinations and giving life to the economic growth in the countryside, especially in potential tourist destinations.
“It’s more fun in the Philippines because of the people as well as the activities,” he told media in his visit to the Summer Capital to grace the Panagbenga grand parades.
Enerio said the people of each place have made the slogan work and with it, the Department of Tourism (DOT), as well as the Tourism Information Board, is tasked to make each tourism area comfortable and fun for each visitor during the whole year.
Both agencies have launched the “Visit the Philippines Year” (VPY) here aiming to boost tourism in key areas to give more reasons to reinforce the “It’s more fun in the Philippines” mantra in 2015.
The campaign is clustered in five themes, namely: business meetings; history and culture; lifestyle and entertainment; music and the arts; sports, adventure, and eco-tourism.
In the Cordilleras, one of the focal events is the annual Flower Festival, which has drawn an estimated two million tourists during the month-long celebration.
There are also smaller events scattered around the region, which ranges from sports and cultural tourism.
Enerio said destinations have prepared tourism essentials like accommodation, recreation, safety and accessibility to be able to offer visitors a holistic and enjoyable stay.
The DOT and the Tourism Information Board have clustered events from around the country to comprise the activities for the VPY.
In the Cordilleras, the DOT has focused on the building of tourism roads leading to sites in the region, paving the way to accessibility for tourism which is the major asset of the region considering its natural beauty and attractions.
Enerio cited the presence of activities in potential tourist destinations will contribute in enticing visitors to keep visiting their desired destinations in the different parts of the Cordillera.
