LET THE tourists come... but fix traffic management.
Anthony De Leon, president of the Hotel and Restaurant Association of Baguio and Baguio Country Club general manager, was not surprised with the deluge of tourists this Yuletide but admits there is much to be desired in traffic management.
De Leon said the influx of tourists has always been expected and projected to increase annually during the Yuletide season citing aggressive promotion by both public and private tourism stakeholders.
"This is what we expected, especially with the opening of the TPLEX Urdaneta Section," De Leon cited.
De Leon said traffic management has deteriorated from the past and hopes a traffic summit in 2015 will be underway to manage the problem especially for the coming Baguio Flower Festival.
De Leon said all hotels were fully booked during the Yuletide with most hotels and inns reserved two or three months prior by tourists wanting to celebrate Christmas and New Year in the city.
Transient houses in the different parts of the city were also booked with tourists with reservation and walk in costumers.
Stakeholders estimated arrivals in the city are running between 700K to 1 million.
De Leon said the TPLEX -NLEX openings the past years have allowed tourism stakeholders to project a surge in arrivals in the Mountain City and government and private sector representatives urged to create contingency plans for the projected influx.
Preparations for the surge, however, were not received as well as expected with de Leon lamenting the tourism summit hosted by the HRAB saw only a few key officials present.
This as tourism infrastructures are being encouraged in BLISTT as Baguio remains to be the main hub for visitors looking for lodging houses, hotels and places to eat.
BLISST areas may be frequented but lack of hotel and restaurant facilities, transportation and personnel prompting visitors to flock to the Summer Capital for its dropping temperature and scenic spots making most hotels and inns overflow with guests.
Tourists staying in the city for the holiday season are enjoying the cold weather plunging to a low of 12 degrees Centigrade.
Attractions from the different areas include the Burnham and Country Club Christmas Village, La Presa at Sto. Tomas, La Trinidad's strawberry farms, Tuba's BenCab Museum as well as other established sites.