Some 70 registered hotels and pensionne houses in Dumaguete and in different towns declared huge loses even up to an estimated P48.9Million in the first month of COVID19 virus lockdown. Most of them boarded the last boat out, via Cebu to their country of destination.
MOST OF THEM have already paid up their package tours in advance to foreign travel agencies who also paid their bills to local hotels. The declared loses are lost future income because of the COVID19 lockdown.
City tourism officer Jacqui Veloso Antonio disclosed that for February alone, a total of P48.9 million was recorded as losses for 70 hotels within the city or a decrease of 14% or approximately 9,000 tourists due to COVID-19.
The computation is taken from the daily expenditures of foreigners which is P6,109 daily and for local tourist at P6,200 daily times an average length of stay for three days
Gi add ang number of visitors nga wala moanhi this Febreruary times daily expenditures for foreigners 6,109 daily and for local 6,200 daily times an average of three days length of stay.
Antonio further said this excludes the Air B and B, restaurants, van rentals and tour operators. About 85% of our tourist arrivals are Filipinos and only 13-14 percent are foreigners, she pointed out.
Last year was a good year for the hotel industry with an occupancy rate of 86% but with safety and protection of workers, more than revenues, the city tourism officer said most if not all of them have instituted preventive measures.jrg