7 TOURISTS FROM DAVAO, NEGROS GIVEN RED-CARPET TREATMENT IN BAGUIO
first-time Baguio visitors from Davao City and Negros Occidental were treated like celebrities, complete with free accommodations, food and souvenirs as well as tours of top destinations in the summer capital, after being selected as this year’s “Lucky Summer Visitors” by the city’s media group.
Negros Occidental resident James Soriano, a seaman, took a Victory Liner Bus bound for Baguio with his four children (Rezia, 21; Ryza Jane, 17; John Reuben, 12; and Sophia Marie, 10) and was chosen by a team from the Baguio Correspondents and Broadcasters Club (BCBC) at a designated point along Marcos Highway in Pugo, La Union, before the ascent to Baguio.
Soriano was not accompanied by his wife who was sick. Another son stayed behind to care for her.
He said the Baguio trip was suggested by fellow seamen who live in the Benguet towns of Tuba and Itogon.
Davao City government workers March Karen Ugdaman and Jay Mae Bee Baling, both 33, were selected earlier by the BCBC in another Baguio-bound Victory Liner bus. They decided to travel to Baguio on a whim, saying it had a reputation for welcoming and protecting LGBTQ+ rights.
They also said they were worried about their chances at finding accommodation, as they traveled here without booking a hotel room.
The Lucky Summer Visitors program has been undertaken by the BCBC since 1983 as part of Baguio’s summer vacation activities.
BCBC revived the project which was suspended in 2020 when all types of travel were restricted because of the coronavirus pandemic.
It also put up the annual Media Camp (now named after one of its organizers, the late editor Jose Nicolas “Peppot” Ilagan) at Burnham Park where they held writing workshops for student journalists.
Peak season
Summer, particularly the Holy Week break, is a peak tourist season for Baguio, which hosted 1.309 million visitors in 2023, according to Jovita Ganongan, Cordillera Director of the Department of Tourism, during a briefing on March 27.
“Based on our statistics, the months of March, April and May contribute a third of the annual tourist arrivals in the city,” said Jose Marie Rivera, assistant tourism supervising officer, at the same forum.
The number of Holy Week guests has yet to be established. But traffic on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday had been smooth because residents either stayed home or left the city for their own vacation plans to avoid the influx of tourists.
Vehicular traffic was heavier during the weekend, but visitors were advised to take “Bakasyon Lanes” along major routes leading up to Baguio to avoid congestion, said PCol. Francisco Bulwayan Jr., Baguio city police director.
Motorists bound for Benguet towns were directed to the circumferential roads so they need not enter the city.
The Holy Week programs will lead to “Mangan Taku,” the April 25-30 gastronomic festival highlighting innovations in Cordillera cuisine, and the Sabsabong ti Mayo, the city’s version of Flores de Mayo but featuring mannequins dressed in flower garlands.