‘Baguio tourism recovering, but businesses still hurting’
BAGUIO CITY, Philippines — Tourist arrivals in Baguio have started to recover over the past two weeks, but the local economy continues to feel the impact of a prolonged slowdown blamed on soaring fuel prices, Mayor Benjamin Magalong said yesterday.
“The number of visitors is still far below normal levels, with weekday tourism activity remaining weak despite a slight increase in the figure during weekends,” Magalong said, noting that tourist traffic is still down by around 35 to 40 percent compared to previous years.
He said that hotels, inns and lodging houses keep reporting low occupancy rates, especially on weekdays, with some establishments even recording zero bookings.
Tourism stakeholders have raised concerns over the continuing slump, which has started to weigh heavily on businesses dependent on visitors.
Magalong said the city government is tracking tourist activity through a color-coded traffic monitoring system.
In previous years, heavy tourist influx pushed traffic indicators to “red,” signaling severe congestion.
But now, red alerts rarely appear and only last for short periods, Magalong said.
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