SUBIC Bay Freeport—Central Luzon’s most visited tourist destination has started its preparation for the summer when it expects an influx of visitors.
Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority Chairman Roberto Garcia said the agency has already implemented major face-lift projects in most tourism facilities and infrastructure here.
“We really have to make sure that the freeport remains the best destination they’d always want to return to,” he added.
Referring to reports from the SBMA Tourism Department, Garcia said that tourist arrivals in Subic reached 7.3 million in 2015, an increase of 14 percent over the 6.4-million record in 2014.
He noted that tourists who actually stayed overnight or for several days in Subic reached 1.43 million in 2015, or 21 percent higher than the 1.18 million recorded in 2014.
The figures were based on reports from hotel operators in Subic, who noted that the occupancy rate also increased to 70 percent last year, the highest in the past four years.
“This is why all of us should be ambassadors of tourism of the SBMA,” Garcia also told employees on Monday.
Subic has been named the Number 1 Tourist Destination in Region 3 by the DoT-3 for the past two consecutive years, and was named Premier Convention Capital of Central Luzon in 2012.