TOURISM REVIVAL. Passengers get onboard to an airline carrier at the tarmac of Laguindingan Airport, in Misamis Oriental on Thursday (April 27, 2023). Tourism in the Northern Mindanao region saw a 177 percent increase in 2022 following the easing of Covid-19 protocol restrictions. (PNA photo by Nef Luczon)
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – Tourism in Northern Mindanao Region bounced back by 177 percent last year following the easing of restrictions from coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) protocols, an official said Friday.
Mylah Faye Aurora Cariño, the region's National Economic Development Authority (NEDA-10) director, said the exceptional achievement can be attributed to "revenge travels" or the return of travelers’ influx to the region.
"The region’s annual tourist arrivals, domestic and foreign, in 2022 increased by 177% to 1.66 million from 599,000 in 2021," Cariño said in a statement.
Cariño said the continued easing of pandemic-related mobility restrictions also led to increased demand for travel and tourism-related services in the region.
She described the expansion of Northern Mindanao's economy last year as a sign of the region’s "further recovery from the pandemic and its resilience amid external headwinds."
The Philippine Statistics Authority-10, meanwhile, also recorded Northern Mindanao's services sector with a growth of 10.1 percent in 2022, describing it as a signal of the region’s recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. (PNA)
