BACOLOD CITY –– Overnight tourists in Negros Occidental dropped by 73 percent last year amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Provincial Tourism Officer Jennylind Cordero said the number went down from 858,995 overnight tourists in 2019 to 232,899 in 2020.
The number of day tourists also dropped from 2,241,715 to 894,072.
Cordero said the number of displaced tourism workers, who applied for the P5,000 cash assistance from the Department of Tourism-Department of Labor and Employment in Negros Occidental, have reached 19,575, exceeding the initial target of 10,000 as of Monday, Feb. 8.
The P5,000-assistance initially covered employees of accredited tourism establishments, but under Bayanihan 2, those who engaged in support services such as tricycle drivers, fisherfolk, and farmers have been included.