Bacolod City – The Bacolod City Tourism Office recorded an increase of 26.22 percent in tourist arrivals from January to December 2023, compared to the same period in 2022.
Tourist arrivals in 2022 was 618,682 while for 2023 it was 780,279. Total tourist arrivals this year was 400,596, covering the period January 1 to June 30, 2004.
Bacolod Chief Tourism Operations Officer Ma. Teresa Manalili made the presentation during the Tourism Updates and M.I.C.E. meeting held recently in Bacolod City.
“Analyzing our tourism arrivals and receipts from 2019 to the first half of 2024, it is clear that we have experienced significant challenges and a remarkable recovery,” she said.
In 2019, we welcomed over 803,000 tourists, generating nearly P15.8 billion in receipts, Manalili noted.
The pandemic hit hard in 2020, resulting in a steep 82 percent decline in receipts as tourists arrivals dropped to just over 143,000, she said.
Manalili said recovery began in 2021, with a modest 3 percent increase in receipts despite only a slight increase in arrivals.
In 2022, she was appointed as the Tourism Officer of Bacolod City, she said.
“Together with your incredible resilience, we experienced a significant rebound in 2022, where receipts surged by 319 percent, a very substantial increase in tourists arrivals,” Manalili added. (Chrysee Semillano via The Visayan Daily Star)