• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The 1.291 million tourist arrivals in Negros Occidental in more than six months this year generated an income of P3.362 billion for the province, records of the Provincial Tourism Office showed.
Of the number, 396,721 were overnight tourists while 894,029 were same-day visitors.
The total of P3.3-billion tourist receipts is equivalent to 54 percent of the P6.225 billion earnings of the province from tourist arrivals in 2023.
Provincial Tourism Officer Cheryl Decena said on Wednesday (July 24) that they are banking on overnight tourists who are the ones spending more.
This year, Negros Occidental is targeting 765,416 tourist arrivals.
The eruption of Mt. Kanlaon has not affected the tourist arrivals, Decena said.
Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson earlier said that the provincial government plans to expand the Mambukal Resort and Wildlife Sanctuary after acquiring a special patent for the land it has occupied for 60 years.
“There will be improvements. In fact, we bought some land beside the 24-hectare Mambukal property we own,” he added.
Lacson said: “We bought some land beside it because we would like to expand the facilities in Mambukal.
We would like to utilize a certain area of Mambukal for high-end facilities to attract more tourists.” | GB
