Bacolod sees tourist arrivals back to pre-pandemic levels in 2023
Tourist arrivals in Bacolod City are expected to return next year to the pre-pandemic level of around 800,000 visitors as monthly events are being planned as attractions.
“Our figures in 2019, which were more than 800,000 tourist arrivals, we will probably reach by 2023,” Maria Teresa Manalili, chief tourism operations officer, said.
As of yesterday, estimates showed Bacolod could hit more than 500,000 visitors by the end of the year, which is higher than the target of 400,000 visitors set by the Department of Tourism.
“We still have November and December, so we can really hit our target. How much more next year? We will have programs and activities per month,” Manalili said.
Data from the City
Tourism Office showed that in 2019, the city had 803,911 visitors, but the figures dropped by -82.19 percent to only 143,114 in 2020, the year the COVID-19 pandemic struck and put the global tourism industry to a halt.
In 2021, Bacolod had 147,582 visitors, which slightly increased by 3.12 percent from the 2020 figures.
During the 43rd
MassKara Festival in October, at least 184,000 tourists attended the threeweek festivity, which was held for the first time since 2019.
“Definitely, the city’s tourism industry has started to recover. If you ask the hotels and restaurants, they were able to recover during the MassKara Festival. It has brought a major impact on tourism as it opened the local economy,” she said.
Manalili said that in
October, people were coming to Bacolod, including groups from at least five local government units which conducted benchmarking activities with the city government.