City tourist arrivals up in 2004

Tourist arrivals in Iloilo City significantly went up by as much as 123 percent last year compared with arrivals in 2003, the city tourism office (CTO) here reported.

City tourism officer Heloise Javellana said a comparative report for the years 2003 and 2004 recently done by the CTO's tourism information assistance center (TIAC) for tourist arrivals at the Mandurriao airport alone indicate that 858 tourists visited the city in 2004 compared to the 385 tourists the city hosted in 2003, or a growth representing 122.86%.

Javellana said the TIAC report showed that, last year, the most number of tourists came from Asia with 722; followed by North America with 62; Europe with 52; Oceania with 19 and Middle East with 3 tourists.

On the other hand, data collected by Javellana's office from submissions made by the various registered hotels, pension houses and other accommodation establishments in the city likewise show that 327,651 tourists were in Iloilo City in 2004, compared to only 173,649 tourists in 2003. The figures submitted by these establishments represent tourists who came to the city either by boat or by land from other destinations in the country

The 2004 tourist registrations submitted by the city's accomodation establishments list 441 Asians of various origins; 4,335 East Asians; 366 Southeast Asians; 4,269 North Americans; 642 Oceanians ; 2,777 Europeans and 113 Middle Easterners.

Javellana thanked the various establishments for passing the data on time and said this will help the city government design better tourism plans and provide it with an accurate and updated aid in determining the factors why tourist arrivals decrease or increase in the metropolis.

Meanwhile, Mayor Jerry P. Treñas said the increase in tourist arrivals only goes to show that Iloilo City continues to attract foreigners because of the hospitality of the Ilonggos and the overall beauty of the place. ( Eireen A. Manikan /PIO) .