Tourists discovering Banaue

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines – Tourists are now discovering Banaue, records from the Department of Tourism show. The DOT 2007 tourism index showed that 46,481 tourists visited Banaue Rice Terraces. DOT said that a big chunk of these visitors are foreigners with Germans touted as the top foreign arrivals with 1,077. They are followed by the French with 964. Others include Americans, Israelites, Canadians, British and Japanese. Koreans, usually registered as students, are not included in the foreign registry. More tourists are expected in Banaue this season with the holding of the Igorot Global Organization biannual conference here next month. IGO is the biggest organization of Igorots expatriates. Also scheduled next month in Banaue is the Imbayah which is the grandest cultural celebration of Ifugao culture. For its part, the Save the Ifugao Terraces Movement (Sitmo), a nongovernment organization, has been conducting the tour of the different rice rituals in the province as a way of reviving the Ifugao rice culture through cultural tourism. Part of the proceeds from the Sitmo tours goes to rebuilding abandoned rice terraces in Banaue, Hapao, Mayaoyao and Kiangan. Other than Banaue, other Cordillera tourist spots are Sagada and Bontoc in Mountain Province. - GMANews.TV