BAGUIO CITY – The city government urged visitors to patronize establishments accredited by the tourism department to prevent them from being victimized by scammers and instead enjoy their well-deserved break in the city.
City Tourism Officer Engr. Aloysius Mapalo said that there had been numerous reports in social media where visitors had been allegedly victimized by scams related to accommodation establishments thus it is incumbent upon tourists to first check whether or not the hotels and transient houses are accredited by the concerned government agencies so that they will have all the reasons to go after those who have caused inconveniences to them in their visit to the city.
He claimed there are more than 4,000 tourism establishments in the city but only 1,600 are accredited by the city government and concerned government agencies, thus, tourists should always verify first the legality of the existence of the establishment before making any bookings or even shelling out money for their advanced payments to avoid being victims of accommodation scams that have proliferated in social media.
The city tourism officer said that the modes of certification on the legitimacy of the existing accommodation establishments are readily available that is why tourists must make time to verify the veracity of the establishments they want to patronize before formalizing their bookings.
According to him, there will surely be a large number of visitors to the city during the summer season especially that there is a heat wave on some nearby areas but there is a need for them to be vigilant to avoid being scammed.
Earlier, disgruntled individuals had been expressing their bad experiences in social media after being allegedly victimized by scammers who pretended to be owners of accommodation establishments in the city and ended up losing money following their placements of advance payments for their stay in the city that ruined their supposed good impression of the city as a prime tourist destination.
Baguio has been one of the premier tourist destinations in the country because of its natural air conditioning and the presence of scenic tourist spots. By Dexter A. See
