BAGUIO CITY – Local hoteliers here declared that the revenge travel that spiced up the country’s tourism industry is over and that the influx of visitors to the city has already normalized.
Anthony de Leon, general manager of the Baguio Country Club (BCC) and president of the Hotel and Restaurant Association of Baguio (HRAB), said that revenge travel among tourists started to dip several months ago which is an indication that the desire of people to travel is over that warrants industry stakeholders to be creative to entice visitors to plan their vacation in preferred tourist destinations in the different parts of the country.
However, he admitted that tourist arrivals after the COVID-19 pandemic is slightly better than the pre-pandemic figures that is why the local tourism industry remains robust amidst the challenges caused by the rainy season.
The HRAB official claimed that many of the accommodation establishments in the city are fully booked during weekends but there are also regular visitors being recorded during weekdays that maintain a decent number of tourist arrivals in the city for the first eight months of the year.
He said that Baguio remains to be one of the preferred tourist destinations in the country because of its cool weather that naturally keep visitors coming back to enjoy its romantic weather.
For his part, HRAB chairman Jefferson Ng pointed out that the drop in tourist arrivals over the past several months could be attributed to the effects of the recent calamities that struck the country that have impacted on the decision-making of people to prioritize their more basic needs over travelling.
According to him, the desire to travel among foreign and domestic tourists is starting to regain its momentum with the start of the various crowd-drawing events in the different parts of the country which keeps local tourism industry stakeholders hopeful that the situation will normalize in the next few weeks.
Ng also pointed out that the effects of the ongoing La Niña phenomenon should not be that grave so that the local tourism industry can rebound and sustain its gains to help in achieving the overall objective of perking up the country’s economy where more jobs are created with increased economic activities and sources of livelihood.
Both HRAB officials stipulated that the upcoming conduct of the 17th edition of the prestigious Hotel and Restaurant Tourism (HRT) Weekend in October will definitely contribute in luring visitors to the city to witness the competition among hospitality industry stakeholders in selecting the best of the best from the 60 categories that will be offered for competitors this year.
The annual HRT Weekend is purely private sector-led that intends to bring the country’s hospitality industry stakeholders together for them to showcase their respective skills and talents in various fields of the profession that adds to the attraction for visitors to the city. By Dexter A. See
