Magalong: More tourists this December

BAGUIO City Mayor Benjamin Magalong remains positive the city can accommodate more visitors by Christmas season.

“I am very confident na bago mag pasko, open na tayo sa ibang regions at sa mga DIY (Do it Yourself tours) tourists, unless we get really hit hard with a huge number of cases, then we have to pull back a little bit,” he said.

Magalong added the opening of city borders to Ilocos tourists will be a test for the city.

“We need to experience this influx of tourists from the Region 1 muna, these are guided tours, organized tours, once na matuto tayo, our confidence level is high enough to say we are capable enough to manage our tourists, that is the time we will expand to the other regions, that is the time, we will allow DIY tourists,” Magalong said.

The mayor said resumption of buses will mean better tourism for the city, admitting mass transportation is crucial but said bus operators lamented the imposition of a one meter distance will not cover the operational cost if they resume in these circumstances.

“There are 250 to 300 trips for commuter busses alone. This is a substantial contribution to tourism. When we allow buses to Baguio City, this is a huge factor mass transport, ang laki ng impact sa tourism natin, kung wala yun knoti lang makakarating dito,” Magalong added.

He said the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) and the Department of Transportation and Railways (DOTR) arguments base on transmission inside vehicles should be made into a study and presented to the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF).

As of October 4, the Baguio Visita has logged 124 travel requests with 50 from Ilocos Region, 33 from the National Capital Region, 22 from Central Luzon, 12 from Calabarzon, two from Central Visayas, four from the Cordillera Administrative Region and one from the United States.

Request from visitors from Ilocos include 29 from Pangasinan, La Union with 16, Ilocos Sur with two and Ilocos Norte with three.

There are 48 total pending travels from the area as of the weekend.

Requests from outside Ilocos were sent notices that they will be notified when travel from their regions can already be allowed.

Magalong said the outbreak of cases is from two areas which have been contained with aggressive testing and contact tracing.

“We have a very low positivity rate unlike in other regions. Our cases are limited in areas we can control. Our testing rate is the highest in the county with 12 percent, we are also using analytical tools, rest assured you will be very safe in the city of Baguio,” Magalong said.

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