The Department of Tourism (DOT) and the local government of Baguio City have vowed to eliminate traffic congestion and improve urbanized sanitation to promote resilient and sustainable tourism in the country's summer capital.
This was discussed during the visit of Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong to DOT Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco on Tuesday, Oct. 11, where the mayor presented the Baguio Resilient City Tourism Project (BRCTP).
Asian Development Bank (ADB) Senior Urban Development Specialist Thuy Trang Dang, alongside Magalong, led the presentation of the BRCTP that promotes sustainable and resilient tourism development in the summer capital of the Philippines.
Under the BRCTP, the Baguio LGU will initiate intensified urban sanitation infrastructure projects and services to reduce pollution and improve public health. It will also support micro, small, and medium-sized tourism enterprises (MSMEs) by training workers.
Frasco welcomed the aligned project of ADB and Baguio LGU, which she said, may bring more opportunity for the tourism industry.
Apart from acknowledging Baguio City as one of the significant tourist destinations in the country, Frasco also lauded the effort of the LGU Baguio for improving its hospitality services.
In 2019 alone, Baguio logged an estimated tourism income amounting to P4.1 billion with a total of 1,536,000 tourist arrivals.
Also present during the meeting were DOT Undersecretary Ferdinand Jumapao; Assistant Secretary Kristine Chiong-Genegobis; DOT Cordillera Administrative Region Director Jovi Ganongan; Baguio Supervising Tourism Operations Officer Engr. Aloysius Mapalo; and ADB officials Sorin Chung, Srinivas Sampath, and Alain Morel.