ILOILO City – The City Tourism and Development Office (CTDO) held a three-hour Iloilo City Night Tour with members of Iloilo media, tour operators and tour guides on Friday night, Oct. 7. It was a trial.
The Iloilo City Night Tour, which showcases tourist destinations and historical landmarks in this southern city, will soon be offered by the city government to visitors as it continues to level up its tourism promotion.
According to City Tourism Officer Junel Divinagracia, they came up with the city night tour for tourists who cannot enjoy roaming around the city at day time because of whole day conferences and meetings.
In July, Divinagracia noted their office had tried the night tour to a group from the University of the Philippines Alumni Association and to the guests of MORE Electric and Power Corporation (MORE Power) from Palawan Electric Cooperative; they found out the guests were enjoying the night tours because of less traffic and the weather is cool compared during day time.
The itinerary of the Friday night tour started with an early dinner at Punot Restaurant at Board Walk in Mandurriao district. The first stop was K-Town at Festive Walk followed by a tour of Jaro district, particularly Jaro plaza and the National Shrine of Our Lady of Candles at the Jaro Metropolitan Cathedral.
It was then off towards the Iloilo provincial capitol to Plaza Libertad and the Iloilo City Hall.
The last stops were the Molo plaza, the historic St. Anne Parish Church and the famous Molo Mansion.
The night tour is in partnership with the Department of Tourism.
Based on the latest data of the CTDO, a total of 191,654 local and foreign tourists visited the city either for conventions, conferences, vacations, or staycations since January this year.
Tourist arrivals started to come alive in April and May when conventions and conferences were already allowed./PN
