Local tourists spent around P7.26 billion in the Cordillera in 2019, based on the preliminary results of the Tourism Satellite Accounts (TSA) project of the Philippine Statistics Authority-Cordillera.
For the 2019 domestic tourism expenditures in Cordillera, transportation (from origin to destination and back) was the highest contributor with around P2.35B, followed by accommodation services for visitors with around P1.6B.
Travel agencies and other reservation services registered around P1.03B, shopping with around P992.67 million, food and beverages services with around 769.35M, and entertainment and recreations services at around P513.16M.
Baguio City had the biggest share in terms of domestic tourism expenditures with 82.28 percent, followed by Mountain Province at 6.68 percent, Benguet with 4.50 percent, Kalinga with 3.85 percent, Ifugao at 1.86 percent, Apayao with 0.5 2percent, and Abra with 0.12 percent.
The PSA-Cordillera TSA also showed that there were 29,312 workers in Department of Tourism-accredited establishments in the region in 2019.
Employment generations were from the sectors of accommodation and food and beverage; passenger transport which include travel agents tour operators and tourism guides; recreation, entertainment, and cultural services; and retail trade on tourism characteristic goods.
PSA Statistical Operations and Coordination Division Chief Aldrin Federico Bahit, Jr. said the Tourism Satellite Accounts 2016-2019 is a special development project of their office in partnership with the Regional Statistical Committee, to measure the contribution of tourism to the economy. It is said to be the first in the country.
With the TSA data, the government and the private sector can assess the effectiveness, viability, and success of tourism-related programs and activities.
In turn, specific programs and policies can also be put in place to maximize its impact to the economy that will greatly benefit the community.
The TSA estimation is still limited by tourism data limitations from the provinces, thus the project will also serve as an advocacy for local government units to improve their statistical processes.
“Better statistics means better plans and programs. Better plans and programs mean better life,” Bahit said.
The PSA-Cordillera is also currently holding focus group discussions with the provincial tourism officers on how to improve data collection, processing, and reporting to support tourism satellite accounting, he added.
The PSA presented the TSA 2016-2019 in a special meeting of the Regional Statistical Committee last Oct. 1 as part of the observance of National Statistics Month. – Carlito C. DarDomestic tourists in CAR spent P7.26 billion in 2019
