Hotel and Restaurant Association of Baguio (HRAB) president Anthony De Leon said last Wednesday that tourism in Baguio is declining since the youth do not find Baguio “attractive” and would rather go to beaches and resorts.

De Leon arrived at this conclusion when they surveyed 1,000 respondents with a structured questionnaire asking them why they did not go to Baguio and where  they preferred to go.

He said they found out that since the kids would decide where the family would stay in a vacation, they would choose the beach for water activities like swimming, surfing, and kayaking. This greatly affected the local hotels and restaurants last Holy Week and summer vacation when they felt they were “not as busy” as usual.

De Leon added that there is a need to re-package and present Baguio in a different manner, it should be promoted as an “adventure destination.”

Baguio Convention and Visitors Bureau executive director Amboy Guevara said that the vision should be re-aligned to fit the resurgent need to tap on the market. He added, “The traditional Baguio visitors that we had years before is now a dying league.” He said that since the kids prefer adventurous activities, “Wala nang pupunta sa atin.”

Guevara believes that the target should be sports-minded and adventurous people. He suggested areas outside of Baguio City wherein one can do fishing, kayaking, rappelling, and river- rafting. He added that there is already a resolution to make Baguio City the “Airsoft Capital of the Philippines.”

Baguio Centennial Commission chairperson Virgilio Bautista said, “Baguio is really ready for adventure.” He added that Baguio City was all about adventure in the past, however, it ended when bigger hotels and restaurants were built. He reminded that Baguio City should start looking back “when the students would come over, sleep in the buses, or sleep in school rooms just to enjoy Baguio.”

He added that Baguio used to be known as the “Campsite of the Country” or a “Tent City” since almost every summer, tents are seen everywhere.

He said the youth must be the target of tourism efforts because “the younger generation of today will be the older generation of tomorrow and the older generation of today were the students of before...”