Iloilo City outpaced Bacolod City by over 400,000 visitors

According to data from the Department of Tourism-Region VI (DOT-6), Iloilo City was the most visited destination in the Western Visayas last year. The city attracted 1,242,087 visitors in 2018, followed by province of Aklan, which includes popular resort island Boracay, which saw 1,103,276 visitors.

Iloilo City Tourism Officer Junel Ann Divinagracia credited the development with the city’s participation in various trade fairs and international events, including the annual Philippines Independence Day Parade in New York City.

Last year, the city was involved in both the parade and a trade mission, which also paid visits to Virginia and Washington, DC.

“We have seen a significant increase in tourist arrivals from the USA because of this promotion,” the city official explained.

“The City Tourism and Development Office intensified its campaign in tourism statistics data gathering and, with assistance from DOT, we have trained new staff to gather data from tourism establishments,” she added.

Meanwhile, the data also showed Bacolod City attracted 835,453 visitors last year./WDJ