RECOVERING | This campsite, called Puerto Silanguin in San Antonio, Zambales, has put up more tents in this photo taken on Oct. 5 to attract more tourists. Open spaces have helped the local tourism sector recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the last two years. (Photo by JOANNA ROSE AGLIBOT / Inquirer Central Luzon)
SAN ANTONIO, ZAMBALES— The tourism industry in Zambales province has started to experience “phenomenal growth” as it bounces back from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, local officials said on Monday.
Domitela Mora, provincial tourism officer, noted the rise of new attractions that were developed amid the pandemic to provide visitors with open spaces where they could have both leisure and safety.
“Aside from beach hotels and restaurants that offer open-air dining, three other accommodation types have surfaced and became hugely popular in the last three years: pool resorts, farm resorts, and campsites,” Mora said in a statement.
As of August this year, the number of accommodation establishments in the province had reached 340 — more than double than the 2018 prepandemic count of 151.
“These definitely helped local tourism to bounce back after an initial slowdown at the start of the pandemic,” Mora added.
Arrivals
From 692,380 local travelers and 62,761 foreign visitors in 2019, the province’s tourist arrivals went down to just 71,552 locals and 1,063 foreigners in 2020 at the onset of the health crisis.
But new attractions drew at least 100,488 local and 3,340 foreign arrivals in 2021. From January to June this year, the province recorded 503,161 domestic visitors and 17,130 foreign tourists.
In 2018, there were just 151 accommodation establishments composed of beach resorts, inland accommodations, hotels, and lodges or inns in the province, Mora said. Most of these were found in towns with active beach scenes, such as San Antonio, Iba, Candelaria, Subic, and San Narciso.
In 2019, the number increased to 231; then to 273 in 2020; and 317 in 2021, before further climbing to 340 as of August this year.“Still, the beach communities currently have the biggest number of tourist accommodation establishments,” Mora said.
Revenue
The local tourism office has estimated the average daily expenditure by a tourist in Zambales at P2,500.
Mora said the 503,161 domestic arrivals and 17,130 foreign tourists recorded this year could have easily generated more than P1.3 billion in income for local tourism establishments and tourism-related businesses.
Mora said more local tourism offerings will be opening in Zambales soon, including the provincial tourism product launch scheduled for this month.
Gov. Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. had recently asked the local tourism office to identify more local tourism products and services that could compete and provide a fresh revenue stream to Zambales.
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