BAGUIO CITY – The tourism office here on Monday said tourists going to Baguio are becoming more cautious by verifying the legitimacy of accommodation establishments through the Baguio Visita hotlines and website.
The public can access Baguio Visita services by calling (074) 4462009/09565729097/09565729093/09565729094 or checking its website, https://visita.baguio.gov.ph.
City tourism officer Aloysius Mapalo, in an interview on the sidelines of the Rizal Day commemoration program on Monday, said their 24/7 hotlines, manned by two staff each eight-hour shift, receive lots of inquiry asking for checking of accommodation establishments since Christmas Day.
He said they have heard of victims of scams through social media but have received only one formal complaint so far, thus they came out with advertising campaigns to warn visitors about scams.
“We continue to update our list. We ask that establishment owners come forward and submit their establishment for inclusion in the list,” Mapalo said.
The scammers require payments for accommodations ahead of their travel. The perpetrators cannot be contacted anymore once they receive the money.
Mapalo said scams increased after the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We have at least 900 (legitimate establishments) in our list, which can accommodate at least 13,000 tourists,” Mapalo said.
Those that started operations just this year are not yet listed. **Liza Agoot
