Ilocos Norte welcomes 5% more tourists for Holy week

By Leilanie G. Adriano & Bernard B. Ver

Laoag City—The Ilocos Norte Tourism Office said the province welcomed an estimated 483,778 domestic and foreign day visitors during the Holy Week.

The INTO figures represent a 5.3% increase in tourist arrivals compared to the same period last year.

A Few weeks before the Holy Week, tourism stakeholders in various parts of the province has already beef up their supply for the expected influx of tourists.

Report from the Ilocos Norte Tourism Office (INTO) showed a total of 483,778 visitors. These were monitored by tourist aides assigned in more than 42 tourism destinations of Ilocos Norte.

“Our tourist arrivals for the Holy Week is another blockbuster considering other new destinations that we promoted this year,” said provincial tourism officer Aian Raquel referring to the sunflower farm in Piddig and the newly-inaugurated Siwawer Eco-Tourism Nature Park in Vintar which features extreme sports adventure and the first bike zipline in Ilocos region.

Major hotels, homestays and other accommodation facilities also reported they were all fully-booked during Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, or an average of 72 percent accommodation for this summer season.

According to INTO, this tourism peak is expected to carry on until June and July.

Like in previous years, the giant windmills located at the Bangui Bay topped the highest number of visitors during the Holy Week season, followed by the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Saint Augustine Church in Paoay, Ilocos Norte. The blue lagoon in Pagudpud, Kapurpurawan Rocks Formation in Burgos and the sand dunes of Suba, Paoay were also included in the Top 5 most visited attraction in Ilocos Norte.

Visitors at the Marcos Presidential Center and museum which consistently received a high number of arrivals in previous years had significantly declined since the remains of the late Pres. Ferdinand E. Marcos was buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

Ilocos Norte’s steady peak of tourist arrivals only shows that we are doing well in promotions, said Mr. Raquel as he underscored some local government units in the province are also aggressive in improving their respective municipalities to attract more tourists in the area.

He also added that the new school calendar will also add to “the total number of visitors will continuously rise in the incoming days as the vacation for schools is extended based on the new school calendars”.

Comments

Free dormitories eyed for Nueva Era students in LC, Batac

Nueva Era mayor Aldrin Garvida By Dominic B. dela Cruz ( Staff Reporter) Nueva Era , Ilocos Norte—The municipal government here, headed by Nueva Era mayor Aldrin Garvida is planning to establish dormitories in the cities of Laoag and Batac that will exclusively cater to college students from the said cities. “Sapay la kuma ta maituloyen iti mabiit tay ar-arapaapen tayo ken iti munisipyo a maipatakderan kuma dagiti annak tayo a college students nga agbasbasa idiay siyudad iti Batac ken Laoag iti libre a dormitoryo a bukod da ngem inggana nga awan pay ket an-anusan mi paylaeng nga ibaklay kenni apo bise mayor iti pagbayad da iti kasera aggapu iti bukod mi a suweldo malaksid dagitay it-ited iti munisipyo ken iti barangay nga stipend da kada semester, ” Garvida said. Garvida added that the proposed establishment of dormitories would be a big help to the students’ parents as this would shoulder the expenses of their children for rent and likewise they would feel more secured

Empanada festival: A celebration of good taste and good life

By Dominic B. dela Cruz & Leilanie G. Adriano Staff reporters BATAC CITY—If there is one thing Batac is truly proud of, it would be its famous empanada-making business that has nurtured its people over the years. Embracing a century-old culture and culinary tradition, Batac’s empanada claims to be the best and tastiest in the country with its distinctive Ilokano taste courtesy of its local ingredients: fresh grated papaya, mongo, chopped longganisa, and egg. The crispy orange wrapper and is made of rice flour that is deep-fried. The celebration of this city’s famous traditional fast food attracting locals and tourists elsewhere comes with the City Charter Day of Batac every 23 rd of June. Every year, the City Government of Batac led by Mayor Jeffrey Jubal Nalupta commemorate the city’s charter day celebration to further promote its famous One-Town, One Product, the Batac empanada. Empanada City The Batac empanada festival has already become an annua

P29 per kilo rice sold to vulnerable groups in Ilocos region

BBM RICE. Residents buy rice for only PHP29 per kilo at the NIA compound in San Nicolas town, Ilocos Norte province on Sept. 13, 2024. The activity was under a nationwide pilot program of the government to sell quality and affordable rice initially to the vulnerable sectors. (Lei Adriano) San Nicolas , Ilocos Norte —Senior citizens, persons with disability, and solo parents availed of cheap rice sold at PHP29 per kilogram during the grand launching of the Bagong Bayaning Magsasaka (BBM) Rice held at the National Irrigation Administration compound in San Nicolas, Ilocos Norte province on Sept. 13, 2024. “ Maraming salamat Pangulong Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. sa inyong pagmamahal sa Region 1 lalong-lalo na sa bayan namin sa San Nicolas,” said Violeta Pasion, a resident Brgy. 18 Bingao in this town. The low-priced grains were sourced from the National Irrigation Administration’s (NIA) contract farming with irrigators' association members in the province. Along with Pasion, Epi

The Ilocos Times

Search This Blog