The La Union Provincial Tourism Office has recorded an estimated PHP462.2 million tourism receipts, with 237,868 tourist arrivals from Jan. 1 to July 15 this year.

Provincial Tourism Office head Julius Manabat, in a phone interview on Friday, said the peak of tourist arrivals in the province in the first semester this year was seen during the summer season or from March to April.

“Summer season records the peak of tourist arrivals since technically, we are a coastal province so they go beaches and waterfalls here,” he said.

Records show that the visitors were predominantly young female adults mostly from Metro Manila, Central Luzon, Ilocos, Calabarzon, and Cordillera Administrative Region.

The tourists’ average spending while in the province amounted to PHP10,290.

Majority of the tourists preferred overnight stay with an average stay of nearly two days, while 63 percent of the visitors are repeat visitors, averaging five returns, primarily visits during holidays and weekends and prefer to stay in tourist inns, records show.

The top three localities where tourists preferred to stay overnight are the towns of San Juan, Bauang, and San Fernando City, where most of the accommodation establishments are situated.

In terms of day tourists, Manabat said San Juan Beach, Agoo Eco Park, and the Luna Baluarte Tower are their favorite.

“They now go to our heritage sites and eco-tourism areas,” he said, referring to the tourism sites in the town of Bacnotan and Luna.

Manabat said amidst the onset of the rainy season, they are hopeful that the second semester would bring in more tourists with the upcoming Tourism Month, Surfing Break, and Pasko sa Kapitolyo (Christmas at the Capitol).

“Surfing enthusiasts flock to the province in the last quarter of the year. Establishments are already patterned to cater to services during the rainy season, especially at the San Juan beach,” he said adding that other peak months for tourism in the province are between October to January, called the Surfing Break.

Maintaining the Standards

Manabat said they are monitoring tourism establishments and training tourism workers to maintain the standards set by the Department of Tourism (DOT) to sustain the high satisfaction rating of tourists.

Tourist establishments and accommodations are checked at least twice a month to check on their compliance on ordinances on having lifeguards, closed circuit television, and sanitary comfort zones.

A mobile accreditation program is also ongoing to capacitate the tourism establishments and workers. (PNA)