• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The visits of more than two million tourists in Negros Occidental in 2023 has initially generated P6 billion in income for the province, surpassing the figures of about P4.5 billion in 2022.
Provincial Tourism Officer Cheryl Decena disclosed the figures yesterday as she declared that the tourism industry of Negros Occidental has fully recovered from the effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
Decena said that she expects the P6- billion income and the number of tourist arrivals to further increase once other local government units submit their reports.
Data of the Provincial Tourism Division showed that Negros Occidental registered an initial increase of 36 percent in tourist arrivals last year compared to 2022.
“We are now hitting 690,000 overnight tourists although the 2023 report is only 90 percent completed compared to 510,000 overnight guests in 2022,” Decena said.
The day visitors have risen from 1.7 million in 2022 to two million in 2023.
“With the double digit growth we can safely say that we have fully recovered,” she added.
Decena said that they are trying to capacitate accommodation establishments for them to serve both local and foreign tourists.
The top 10 tourist destinations in Negros Occidental in 2022 as officially declared by the Department of Tourism-Western Visayas are The Ruins and Campuestohan in Talisay City, Magikland in Silay City, Sipaway Island in San Carlos City, Mambukal in Murcia, Tomongtong EcoTrail in E.B. Magalona, City Resort in Victorias City, Lakawon in Cadiz City and Guintubdan in La Carlota City.
In terms of tourist arrivals, local government units having the most number of tourists include the cities of Sipalay, San Carlos, Kabankalan, Silay, Cadiz and Talisay.
Ten percent of the tourists who have visited the province, excluding the highly-urbanized Bacolod City, are mostly citizens of the United States, Korea, Germany, Canada, Australia, China and Japan, data further showed. | GB
