ILOILO City – The City Tourism Office (CTO) logged almost 200,000 tourist arrivals since January this year.
Partial data from accommodation establishments alone showed a total of 191,654 local and foreign tourists visiting the city either for conventions, conferences, vacations or staycations, according to City Tourism Officer Junel Ann Divinagracia.
The data did not yet include same-day visitors who visited museums and galleries and other destinations in the city, she clarified.
Divinagracia noted that the figure on tourist arrivals was only as of August and other accommodation establishments were yet to submit their data as to the number of tourists catered to.
Divinagracia noted that the city’s tourism industry started to pick up and come alive in April and May, when conventions and conferences were already allowed.
Since then, she said, the city had hosted several conventions and conferences.
Divinagracia said the city continues to prepare its destinations and produce tourism products to entice more tourists to come here.
For one, she noted that several local government units have come to the city for bench-marking and to learn about the city’s best practices.
As a sweetener to those visiting Iloilo City, Divinagracia reiterated that the city government, through the CTO, has asked airline and shipping companies and malls to give convention delegates special discounts.
Aside from big events, the city government is also showcasing Iloilo City through night tours.
In July, the CTO already offered the night tour to a group from the University of the Philippines Alumni Association and the Palawan Electric Cooperative.
“We found out during night tours that guests were enjoying and they could focus on the stories of the destinations since there were less distractions like traffic and people. It was not too warm; they liked the cool weather,” she said.
Divinagracia is hopeful that the city’s tourism will continue to pick up and surpass its pre-pandemic tourist arrivals that reached over a million./PN
