Officials in the northern Philippines city of Baguio report that both tourism and hospitality will remain strong in early 2025.
This has recently been evidenced by high hotel occupancy rates that soared to a high of 85 percent earlier in the year, driven by both the holiday season and the upcoming Pangabenga Flower Festival.
According to Hotel and Restaurant Association of Baguio (HRAB) spokesperson Andrew Pinero, tourists have not stopped coming since mid-December, adding that HRAB members reported a 95 percent occupancy rate from the first week of December 2024 to the end of the year. .
Says Pinero: “Our benchmark there is not only members' housing facilities, but also temporary homes in neighboring villages.”
Close to a million
Baguio City Tourism Officer Aloysius Mapalo announced that the city had a lot of visitors during the holidays.
He said the peak was observed in the last two weekends of the year, at around one million for the entire period.
Mapalo added that, initially, officials estimated about 10,000 people would attend the New Year's countdown at the city's Melvin Jones Grandstand.
He said: “We have definitely achieved what we were hoping for: the influx of visitors, with the interest of foreigners coming to Baguio. The fact that Baguio is a top choice as a vacation destination was confirmed during the holidays.”
Mapalo also discounted claims that outsiders dominate the city during peak tourist season and that locals have been turned away and told to stay at home to avoid congestion.