Prolonged rainfall, Kennon Road closure hurting Cordillera tourism

LAKE TIME A boat ride at Burnham Park’s man-made lake is a must for many families visiting Baguio City. Tourism officials say the summer capital received fewer visitors in recent months due to bad weather and road repairs. —EV ESPIRITU

BAGUIO CITY, Benguet, Philippines — The number of tourists to Cordillera from January to June has shown a dip, owing to the prolonged monsoon and the closure of Kennon Road, one of three main routes to this city, according to the Department of Tourism (DOT).

The tourism sector is always prepared for the monsoon season, but extreme weather has extended the rainy months in the city, which serves as gateway to the provinces of Benguet, Mountain Province and Ifugao, where most scenic spots are located, the DOT said.

Hotels and major tourism providers recorded 1,137,169 domestic and foreign visitors last year. “This year, we haven’t hit a million yet,” Jovita Ganongan, the DOT Cordillera director, said.

Most visitors use Kennon Road, the shortest and most scenic route, which has been closed to motorists for months because of repairs and occasional rockslides due to strong rains, Ganongan said.

Travel to Baguio via Marcos Highway has also slowed down due to landslides, the most recent of which was last week when rocks fell on a busy portion of the road that forced traffic to be rerouted.

Weekend activities

Weekend activities in Baguio have helped continue luring families living in Pangasinan and La Union provinces who can commute or take a quick two-hour drive to the city.

On Sunday, tourists joined residents who lined up for specially priced “lechon” that was sold on downtown Session Road, which had been closed to traffic, at least one lane, since August as part of a road pedestrianization experiment. —Vincent Cabreza