REVIVING TOURISM. Agapita Pacres, head of the Legazpi City Tourism Office, is shown during an interview with the Philippine News Agency on Monday (May 30, 2022). Pacres said the city's tourism industry which was badly affected by the pandemic has started to rebound, with arrivals continuously increasing in the past months. (Photo courtesy of Jun Arganda) LEGAZPI CITY - After more than two years of restrictions due to the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic, this city's tourism industry is starting to rebound, with more visitors arriving in the last several months. Agapita Pacres, head of the City Tourism Office (CTO), in an interview on Monday said from a drastic drop in arrivals of close to 68,000 in 2020 compared to over 1.2-million in pre-pandemic 2019, the figure climbed to 98,000 in 2021, or an increase of around 30 percent. In the first three months of this year as many parts of the country were placed under Alert Level 1, close to 36,053 local and foreign tourists ha
If this summer season is any indication, it seems more Filipinos are starting to regain their lives returning to their pre-pandemic routine. Many are exploring more places, as if on a “revenge travel” mode. A forecast from the Department of Tourism (DOT) noted that domestic trips may reach 84.8 million…