NCR Plus tourists flock Baguio City

The city maintains its strict entry protocols for tourists that require negative test result for the coronavirus disease 2019 and registration with the local government’s online visitation portal

BAGUIO CITY — The local government here has confirmed the influx of visitors and tourists coming from Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal — collectively known as the NCR Plus bubble — following the easing of travel restrictions from these areas going to areas under the general community quarantine (GCQ) and modified GCQ.

Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong said that tourist arrivals started to pick up in the first week of June with hotels and restaurants getting more bookings and sales and he is hoping that the city’s tourism industry will pick up its pace.

“We hope to be able to maintain and rejuvenate our tourism industry without compromising the health and safety of our people,” Magalong said.

City Tourism Operations Officer Aloysius Mapalo, on the other hand, disclosed that the city has seen a surge in tourists arrivals over the weekend after it was announced that Baguio can already accommodate leisure travelers from NCR Plus starting 1 June.

“Data show that 1,406 tourists arrived from 31 May to 6 June. It’s more than double the previous week at only 535 arrivals,” Mapalo said.

The local government also stressed that it maintains its strict entry protocols for tourists that require negative test result for the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) and registration with the visita. baguio.gov.ph portal.

Subsidized antigen tests are provided for tourists through the P1.8 million fund provided by the Tourism Promotions Board to ensure safety from Covid-19.

Meantime, the Baguio City mayor admitted that the city’s economy relies heavily on tourism, which is why intensified efforts are exerted to gradually and safely open the industry with strict adherence to the implementation of minimum health protocols.

Tourist arrival records from the tourism office showed that only 515 tourists arrived in the city last April and 2,169 last May.

March recorded the highest with 24,295, owing to eased up travel protocols that time. February had 8,915 while January had 9,819 and December 2020, 12,066 tourists.

Magalong noted that last year alone, the industry suffered more than P3.5 billion losses in potential income with the drop in tourist arrivals seven times lower than that of 2019 or from 1.7 million in 2019 to just 232,000 in 2020.

From April to June last year, the industry lost more than P1.6 billion in potential income while tourism workers lost more than P550 million in unrealized wages.