BACOLOD City – As the city gears up for the 44th MassKara Festival, hotels in Bacolod are now fully booked in anticipation of the festival highlights.
Ma. Teresa Manalili, head of the City Tourism Office, revealed that all 22 hotels are fully booked for the third week of October. The MassKara Festival highlights are scheduled from Oct. 16 to Oct. 22.
Manalili informed that the 22 fully booked hotels are Department of Tourism-accredited, offering over 1,500 rooms. This figure doesn’t include Airbnb facilities and local groups and individuals who are also offering their rooms or houses to visiting tourists.
The city is targeting around 200,000 domestic and international tourists throughout the festival.
Last year’s records from the City Tourism Office show 34,000 check-ins, 27,000 accommodations in inns, pension houses, motels, bed and breakfasts, vacation homes, hostels, and other similar establishments (referred to as “Mabuhay accommodations”); 50,000 airport arrivals; and 100,000 arrivals at the ports in Banago and BREDCO. Manalili expressed hope to exceed last year’s numbers this festival season.
In addition to the MassKara highlights, Bacolod will also host a national convention of the Association of Government Accountants of the Philippines in the third week of October. This convention is expected to bring in about 3,000 delegates.
Manalili noted that they’ve coordinated with the Provincial Tourism Office to ready accommodations in nearby cities such as Bago, Talisay, and Silay for potential overflow./PN
