Baguio tourist arrivals improve, but remain below pre-conflict levels — Magalong

Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong reported that while tourist arrivals in the city have improved over the past two weeks, the numbers remain below previous levels, with weekday arrivals continuing to be particularly weak.

Magalong said the city’s economy has yet to fully recover, as it continues to feel the effects of reduced visitor numbers caused by the sudden increase in petroleum prices linked to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

According to the mayor, tourist arrivals have recently started to pick up, but the figures remain low. He noted that while the city previously experienced a decline in visitors of as much as 50 percent, current figures are still down by around 35 to 40 percent.

Accommodation facilities and members of the Baguio Tourism Council reported that many hotels and lodging establishments continue to experience very low occupancy rates during weekdays, with some even recording zero occupancy.

Magalong noted that tourist activity now improves only during weekends, whereas before the conflict in Iran, an increase in visitors was already noticeable by Friday due to immediate traffic build-ups in the city.

The city government monitors tourist activity through a color-coded traffic monitoring system. Under the system, green indicates smooth traffic flow or lower congestion, orange reflects moderate congestion, and red signals heavy traffic conditions usually associated with high tourist arrivals.

The mayor explained that when tourist arrivals were previously high, red indicators would dominate traffic reports. Currently, red rarely appears and, when it does, it lasts only for a few hours.

Magalong pointed out that green and orange indicators remain dominant, suggesting that road conditions are still manageable and visitor volume remains below normal levels.

He added that the continued decline in tourist arrivals continues to significantly affect the economy of Baguio, particularly businesses that depend heavily on tourism.