By Bernard Ver
Contributor
LAOAG CITY—Provincial officials said an estimated 500,000 tourists visited
the province during the Holy Week.
They also mentioned that they expect more influx of tourists in the
province for the coming holiday and summer season, as well as the shifting of
the country’s school calendar.
Among the top destinations in the province include the St. Augustine Church
in Paoay; the Kapurpurawan rock formation in Burgos; the windmills of Bangui;
the Blue Lagoon at Balaoi, Pagudpud; La Milagrosa Cove and Gateway of Badoc;
Marcos Heritage Trail in Sarrat; Davila Seafood Area; the Cape Bojeador
Lighthouse in Burgos; and the Empanada food stalls and church of Batac City.
Tourists are coming in both from land and air. Bus companies servicing the
Ilocos Norte route said they are ready to cater to the tourists. Laoag
International Airport (LIA) manager Ronald Estabillo, for his part, said the
airport is ready to welcome both domestic and foreign tourists.
Meanwhile, Ilocos Norte government tourism office Aian Raquel said the
recent closure of Boracay Island, a popular tourist destination, became a “big
plus” for the province. He, added though, that the Boracay issue should serve
as an “important reminder” to all tourism stakeholders both in the province and
in the country.
“The closure [of] Boracay sends a very important message to all
destinations in the country, including Ilocos Norte. What’s very important now
is for us to keep our development sustainable and we should be able to manage
the environmental impacts of tourism in the province, so that, we will not
experience that situation,” Mr. Raquel said.
The Department of Tourism's (DOT) data on monthly visitor arrivals in the
country hit all-time high of 732,506 in January. DOT officials credited the
impressive figure, indicating a 15.97 percent rise from January last year up to
present. These figures are gathered by the DOT Tourism Research and Statistics
Division under the Office of Tourism Planning.
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