BAGUIO City will be implementing a travel corridor with the provinces of La Union, Pangasinan, Ilocos Sur, and Ilocos Norte, in a bid to partially reopen the country’s traditional summer capital to tourism.
On Tuesday, 111th anniversary of Baguio’s Charter Day, a memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed between Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong and governors from the Ilocos region — Amado Espino III (Pangasinan), Matthew Manotoc (Ilocos Norte), and Ryan Singson (Ilocos Sur) — which formalizes the Ridge to Reef travel corridor. A technical working group will be formed to conduct research and other strategies to facilitate tourism and the economic recovery of the members of the BLUPISIN region.
In a news statement, Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat expressed full support to the planned travel corridor, which she said was worth emulating in other parts of the country, as the Department of Tourism continued to seek ways to kickstart domestic tourism.
“This corridor plan of the BLUPISIN is truly admirable, not only because of the variety of tourism products involved but because of how advanced inter-provincial protocols are in terms of border control, as well as in assuring the health and safety of tourists and communities,” she said. “It is a clear manifestation of the strong support of the local and provincial leaders to jumpstart tourism, which thousands of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the region rely on. This can serve as a pilot project, and when successful, can be replicated where applicable,” she added, after witnessing the MOU signing.
The DOT chief also announced that the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) will allocate funds to support programs such as the Baguio Visitor Information and Travel Assistance (Visita), a multi-platform digital monitoring application; the set-up of the baguiocreativecity.com web site and e-commerce platform; and the revival of the city’s weaving and fashion industry.
During her keynote speech for the Baguio Charter Day celebration, Romulo Puyat underscored the importance of sustaining the reopening of the city to tourism, as well as other destinations in the country.
“With sustainable tourism as our core advocacy, we have and will continue to ensure that policies are in place for the protection of the environment and the local community,” she said. “As Baguio readies to open its doors, we are being given the opportunity now to refocus on sustainable and responsible tourism, taking into account the quality rather than the number of tourists entering this iconic and beloved destination,” she noted.
She also lauded the advanced and responsible crisis management system of Baguio City that resulted in the highest testing per total population for any local government unit in the country. Also, she said, the city has an impressive contact tracing technique, contactless payment procedures, and strict health and safety protocols. Magalong was recently appointed by President Duterte to oversee contact-tracing operations of the Inter-Agency Task Force for Managing Emerging Infectious Diseases.
“Given these protocols in place, Baguio can anticipate reopening cautiously first to visitors from Region 1. Tourists will be regulated and monitored through the Baguio Visita. Everyone is encouraged to pre-register and pre-book accommodations,” said the tourism secretary.
Under proposed guidelines, once visitors enter Baguio, they are expected to undergo RT-PCR or antigen tests. The tour operator or hotel management shall then closely monitor the movement of the tourists. Baguio will also be limiting the number of visitors that can enter its borders depending on risk levels, said Romulo Puyat.
Visitor arrivals in Baguio reached 1.76 million in 2019, up 15.7 percent from 2017, according to its city tourism office.