Baguio sees tourism boost amid prolonged dry spell

MISTY BURNHAM Boatrides at the century-old Burnham Lake resumed on Sept. 1, when this photo was taken, after major renovations that included having a new fleet of swan boats, among other improvements. The attraction is part of Baguio’s tourism push as the city prepares for a possible influx of visitors seeking relief from El Niño heat. —VINCENT CABREZA

BAGUIO CITY—The dreaded impact of a “super El Niño” may actually drive up tourism in this city as visitors flee to the country’s coolest mountain city to escape the projected heat toward the end of 2026 and the first half of 2027, said Jovie Ganongan, regional director of the Department of Tourism (DOT) in the Cordillera, during a briefing on Wednesday.

But the city has also been marketing destinations “beyond Baguio,” partly to ease pressure on city traffic and protect its water supply ahead of the anticipated lengthy El Niño dry spell, which is forecast to begin this month, said Aloysius Mapalo, Baguio tourism operations officer.

The strategy also considers other global challenges affecting travel this year, apart from unpredictable weather, including unstable fuel prices triggered by the Feb. 28 attack on Iran. The conflict has continued to disrupt global supply chains and fuel inflation.

El Niño is a climate phenomenon marked by unusually warm sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean.

As of Sept. 21, several areas in the country were experiencing dry conditions, dry spells or drought as a strong El Niño persisted over the tropical Pacific.

A dry spell is three consecutive months of 21 to 60 percent below-normal rainfall, or two months of more than 60 percent below-normal rainfall, while drought is three consecutive months of more than 60 percent below-normal rainfall.

Inflation

In September, the country’s headline inflation rose to 7.2 percent from 6.1 percent in August, driven by higher fuel and food prices. In the Cordillera, inflation remained at 6.8 percent in July and August, with high crude oil prices also contributing to the region’s inflation.

Combining Baguio with destinations in neighboring Benguet municipalities makes travel more worthwhile for visitors, Ganongan said.

“We are encouraging travel around interconnected destinations so when you travel, you don’t need to spend so much,” she said.

A social media campaign by the city government has been promoting attractions in neighboring La Trinidad, Itogon, Sablan, Tuba and Tublay, which make up the Blistt area. Blistt is the acronym for the emerging metropolis formed through economic cooperation between Baguio and five neighboring Benguet municipalities.

Atok, which is not part of Blistt, is also a major component of Baguio’s tourism campaign because of the popularity of its flower farms, Mapalo said.

Baguio, together with the other Cordillera destinations of Abra, Kalinga and its component city of Tabuk, Ifugao, Apayao, Benguet and Mountain Province, drew 1.586 million domestic and foreign tourists last year.

Baguio accounted for 1.156 million of the regional total.