Dumaguete City Tourism Officer Jacqueline Antonio said tourist arrivals in Dumaguete dropped 14 percent in February, and that translated to P48.9 million in lost income for the industry.
In February 2019, about 65,225 tourists visited the city compared to only 56,093 last month, figures from 70 hotels in the city showed.
Antonio said the figures do not include tourists through Airbnbs, or online marketplace for arranging or offering lodging, primarily homestays, or tourism experiences, as well as revenues from the food service industry.
It was in February when news of the Chinese couple, who tested positive of Covid-19, travelled to Dumaguete City and Dauin in Negros Oriental, first came out.
Also in February 2019, it was revealed that some 1,329 tourists from China, 20 from Taiwan, 164 from Korea, and 144 from Hong Kong travelled to Dumaguete City.
Except for Taiwan, which increased by almost a dozen, the number of tourists from these countries dropped in February 2020, particularly China with just 143, Korea 147, and Hong Kong with 18.
The City’s Inter-Agency Task Force on Covid-19, chaired by Mayor Felipe Antonio Remollo, has imposed continuous monitoring of hotels, inns, lodging houses, and Airbnbs to see if they comply with the recommended measures on infection prevention and control.
City Health Officer, Dr. Maria Sarah Talla, said personnel from her office and the City Disaster Risk and Reduction Management Office have stringently monitored all arriving passengers at seaports using the DOH decision tool.*
BY RENE GENOVE
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