BAGUIO CITY—There is an increase in the rate of foreign and local tourist arrivals in five of the seven Cordillera provinces, the regional office of the Department of Tourism (DOT) here said.

Based on statistics from the DOT regional office, there was a slight decrease in the number of domestic tourist arrivals in Baguio in 2010 compared to the year 2009.

Benguet, Ifugao, Kalinga and Apayao all recorded a positive growth with Benguet posting an 11.35-percent growth of foreign visitors. Ifugao showed a 14-percent increase in foreign arrivals while Kalinga had a 21.34-percent general increase in foreign and local arrivals.

Apayao recorded a major leap at 57.36 percent in tourism arrivals for domestic but a slight 1.9-percent decrease in foreign arrivals.

During the period, the provinces of Abra and Mountain Province recorded a decrease of 52.54 percent and 11.35 percent, respectively.

DOT regional director Pura Molintas said Baguio City cornered 63 percent of total tourist arrivals in the region equivalent to 738,386.

Benguet came in second with 20 percent or 228,312 followed by Ifugao with 103,470.  

In the first quarter of 2011, the region recorded a slow turn-out of tourist arrivals by 50 percent both on local and foreign arrivals.

There was a decrease in arrivals for the Mountain Province and Abra which only garnered a 3-percent share of total arrivals in the region.

The director said the declining number of tourist arrivals in the region is attributed to the growing popularity of other destinations in the country.

She said 60 percent of tourist arrivals in the region go to Baguio City. If other spots in the area want to entice more visitors, they should develop a come-on for tourists, especially those who have already gone to Baguio a number of times in the past.