Baguio has 1,600 accredited accommodation establishments
The City Tourism Operations Office announced there are more than one thousand six hundred accommodation establishments accredited by the city government to ensure the safety of visitors patronizing the said businesses.
Supervising City Tourism Operations Officer Engr. Aloysius C. Mapalo stated that 70 percent of the said accredited accommodation establishments are said to be serviced residential units that are able to accommodate a large number of families.
The city government and the Cordillera office of the tourism department started accrediting accommodation establishments in the city to ensure these businesses conform with the standards of accommodation establishments.
The city tourism officer urged visitors to first validate the legitimacy of the operation of the accommodation establishment they intend to stay in when visiting the city to prevent them from being victimized by booking scammers and to guarantee that these practice industry standards for accommodations.
According to him, the city government and the tourism department continue to accredit accommodation establishments interested to be given the required accreditation so they can be included in the list of duly accredited accommodation facilities operating in the city.
Mapalo advised tourists wanting to visit the city and nearby tourist destinations to visit the city’s travel application, Visitors Information and travel Assistance (VISITA), to validate whether or not their intended accommodation establishment is duly accredited to assure their safety and convenience while in the city.
Earlier, tourism industry stakeholders disclosed that almost all of the big hotels and other accommodation establishments are fully booked during the Yuletide season which is an indication that the local tourism industry has gradually and safely recovered from the heavy impact inflicted by the COVID-19 pandemic over the past 2 years.
Recently, Baguio hosted the Fil-Am invitational golf tournament where more than 1,300 amateur golfers from the Asia-Pacific region were in the city to play golf at the Baguio Country Club (BCC) and Camp John Hay (CJH) fairways.
By next year, the Baguio Flower Festival Foundation, Inc. (BFFFI) will be resuming the conduct of face-to-face activities for the 27th edition of the Panagbenga, the city’s major crowd drawing event, as part of reviving the local tourism industry and spur local economy towards the creation of jobs for the displaced workers.
Part of the major gatherings in the city next year is the expected resumption of the face-to-face gatherings of the alumni homecoming of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA), the premier military institution in Asia, where graduates of the school and the members of their families are expected to actively participate in a week-long celebration prior to the main events of the Panagbenga which are the grand street dancing parade on February 25, 2023 and the grand float parade on February 26, 2023. – Dexter A. See
