The Department of Tourism (DOT) in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) is mounting promotional activities to lure more foreign tourists to visit the region.
“We attend major local travel fairs conducted by the DOT and the private tour operators in all regions in the country. We also attend international travel fairs so that we can promote the Cordillera,” Jovita Ganongan, regional director of the DOT-CAR, said in a phone interview on Tuesday.
Ganongan said these international tourism marketing campaigns aim to lure foreign tourists “for them to see the beauty of our place and the unique adventures and offerings that we have in the provinces of the Cordillera.”
She said the Cordillera region’s diverse tourism offerings—including creative, wellness, gastronomy, farm-to-table, cultural and heritage, weaving, mountain, sports and adventure, and golf experiences—continue to attract foreign tourists.
DOT-CAR records showed Americans topped foreign tourist arrivals in the Cordillera, followed by the French, Koreans, Canadians, Japanese, British, Chinese, Australians, Germans, and Israelis.
A total of 1,572,655 local tourists and 53,948 foreign tourists arrived in the Cordillera in 2025.
Last year, there were also 6.7 million same-day tourists who arrived in the Cordillera, mostly in Baguio City.
Ganongan said that each local government has been doing its own share of promoting its respective areas, especially with fuel prices still up, making travel difficult for many locals.
“We must be on the move to boost our tourism offerings. We must capitalize on what is unique in every province and what is different from the other destinations so that tourists will choose us,” she added. (PNA)
