Baguio tourist arrivals improving, still below past levels — Magalong

Tourist arrivals in Baguio City have begun to improve over the past two weeks, but visitor numbers remain below previous levels, Mayor Benjamin Magalong said on Sunday.

Magalong said tourism in the city has yet to fully recover, with weekday arrivals still significantly lower than in past years.

“Tourist arrivals have been picking up for almost two weeks now, but the numbers are still low. If we previously experienced a decline of as much as 50 percent, I would say we are still down by around 35 to 40 percent,” Magalong said in a statement.

The mayor attributed the decline in tourist arrivals partly to rising fuel prices linked to tensions in the Middle East, which he said have discouraged travel to the city during the summer season.

The Baguio City government earlier reported that tourist arrivals during this year’s Holy Week dropped by as much as 50 percent compared with usual levels.

Feedback from the local tourism sector, including the Tourism Council and hospitality businesses, indicated that many hotels and inns continue to struggle with weak weekday demand, with some establishments reportedly receiving no bookings on certain days, Magalong said.

Visitor numbers generally rise only during weekends, he added.

“Before the war in Iran, you could already feel the increase in visitors by Friday because traffic would immediately build up in the city,” Magalong said.

He explained that the city government monitors tourist activity partly through traffic patterns using a color-coded system: green for light traffic, orange for moderate congestion, and red for gridlock, which typically signals a high volume of visitors.

“Before, when tourist arrivals were high, red indicators would dominate our traffic reports. Now, red rarely appears, and if it does, it only lasts for a few hours,” he said.—MCG, GMA News