With the long holidays coming up, accommodations in Baguio City are already at its 90 percent capacity.
Hotel and Restaurant Association of Baguio spokesperson Andrew Pinero said theaccommodation establishments such as hotels, inns, and transient houses are ready for the influx of tourists from Oct. 29 towards the All Souls and All Saint’s Day.
He warns that tourists should make sure that the people they are dealing with have legitimate business establishments. He said tourists should transact only with accredited and registered transient houses to avoid getting scammed.
“Nakakaiyak iyong nagbayad ka tapos pagdating mo wala kang matulugan,” Pinero said.
Pinero, also the client and members relations manager of the Baguio Country Club, said with the revitalization of tourism, it also brought about job opportunities in the various businesses such as the hospitality industry.
BCC, for instance, is hiring workers, as around 60 regular employees who went home to their provinces during the pandemic have decided not to come back. He said some of these are management positions, which they are currently filling up now due to the positive outlook in tourism.
Pinero said the projected five-year recovery period of the tourism industry has been shortened due to the high volume of tourists coming up in Baguio City owing it to revenge tourism in 2022.
Revenge tourism is a new term that emerged to describe the pent-up demand to travel by the global population, which was brought about by the pandemic.
“We hope that this continues in the next two years para naman iyong accommodation establishments natin will not just recover but also be able to improve their facilities,” he said.
Part of the training being conducted by the HRAB to its members, which is the proper knowledge in hotel management that includes improvement of their facilities.
Several business establishments that signified its intentions to join HRAB. – Ofelia C. Empian
