BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – The number of nights tourists spent in commercial accommodation establishments in Negros Occidental plunged 73 percent last year, data from the Provincial Tourism Office (PTO) showed.
Overnight tourists dropped from 858,995 in 2019 to 232,899 in 2020 after the coronavirus pandemic threw cold water on the province’s inbound tourism boom, according to Provincial Tourism Officer Jennylind Cordero.
The number of day tourists, Cordero said, also dropped from 2,241,715 to 894,072.
PTO’s data covered all of the 31 towns and cities in the province, excluding Bacolod City.
Cordero attributed the sharp decline to the stringent quarantine rules instituted March last year and tourists’ lingering concerns about their health and safety.
But she emphasized that Negros Occidental is not the only province affected by the drastic decline in visitor arrivals as the pandemic’s impact went global.
“The situation in the province is not far behind in the whole world,” Cordero said.
As to the local tourism workers, Cordero said a total of 19,575 have been economically displaced, citing the records of the Department of Tourism (DOT) and Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).
They have all applied for the P5,000 cash assistance from the government, she added.
The cash aid initially covered employees of accredited tourism establishments but under Bayanihan 2 those who engaged in support services such as tricycle drivers, fisherfolk, and farmers have been included.
Cordero said the number of displaced workers heavily relying on tourism industry is expected to grow in the coming months.
While not providing a breakdown, Cordero noted majority of the hotels, resorts and accommodation establishments in the province already reopened but are only limited to local tourists.
Some of the establishments, she said, are not even accommodating those coming from other towns and cities./PN
