Christmas fever spurs Baguio tourism
BAGUIO CITY – The Christmas season, not the colorful Panagbenga Festival or Holy Week break is considered the peak of this city’s tourism season, the City Tourism and Special Events Office said.
City Information Officer Aileen Refuerzo said that from 2015 to 2017, the city posted the highest number of local and foreign tourist arrivals in December. She said that in 2015, there were a total of 122,709 tourists in December; 86,965 in November; 118,501 in May; 122,447 in April; 97,190 in March and 106,373 in February.
The gap widened in 2016 where there were a total of 172,303 tourists in December; 119,060 in November; 129,121 in April; 111,678 in March and 104,568 in February. In 2017, there were 198,599 tourists in December, 147,464 in November, 144,447 in April; 111,362 in March and 129,572 in February.
According to the 2017 report, the city chalked up a 17.52 percent increase in tourist arrivals in 2017 with a total of 1,521,748.
Over 96 percent of visitors at this time of the year are local tourists, while the rest are foreigners, mostly Americans, Koreans and Chinese.
“Consistent growth is observed through the months with double-digit gains except for the months of March and June. However, highest volume is seen in the month of December with a total of 198,599 tourists,” Refuerzo noted.
As in the past years, the merrymaking began December 1 with the traditional Children’s Mardi Gras and the Lantern Parade, now a joint undertaking of the St. Louis University and the city government.
Both activities are certified crowd-drawers. A string of activities have also been scheduled throughout the month including religious and gift-giving activities, anniversaries and festivals, trade fairs, musical performances and contests and sports treats.
Councilor Elmer Datuin, who chairs the council committee on tourism and senior tourism operations officer Jose Maria Rivera told the City Hall Hour press briefing last week that the city government is working to further improve and make Christmas season activities here more interesting and meaningful.