NEGROS Occidental Governor Alfredo Marañon Jr. said more hotels are need in the province to accommodate more tourists.
He added that he has been encouraging investors for hotels.
The governor said the Capitol is taking the lead by constructing a 42 room hotel in Mambukal Resort in Murcia town which will be completed this coming December.
“We need more that’s why we are encouraging beach resort and hotel owners for more rooms for tourists,” he said.
Marañon reiterated the need for more accommodations after Negros Occidental was identified as the second most visited place in the country by Filipino domestic travelers.
This was based on the results of the 2016 Household Survey on Domestic Visitors recently released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) and Department of Tourism (DOT) showed.
Negros Occidental, listed next to National Capital Region only, came ahead of Pangasinan, Cavite, Quezon, Bohol, Cebu, Camarines Sur, Laguna, and Leyte in the top 10.
Cristine Mansinares, provincial supervising tourism operations officer, had earlier said the survey result is a big boost to the tourism industry of Negros Occidental.
It validates the Provincial Government’s marketing efforts, she added.
The survey, which was administered among 18,000 households with reference period covering April to September, last year, showed that 69 percent of the travelers were day visitors.
The remaining 31 percent comprised overnight visitors with an average stay of five nights. They spent money most on transportation, shopping, and food and beverages.
For purpose of visit, the PSA and DOT reported that most travels were made for pleasure and vacation, followed by visiting friends and relatives, and religion or pilgrimage.
Most frequent type of accommodations, meanwhile, included home of friends and relatives, resorts and hotels.
Mansinares added that the provincial government recognizes the need for Negros Occidental, especially its developing sites, to be more prepared to maintain and further sustain its growing tourism industry. (TDE)
