Benguet visitors can stay longer in eco-tourism areas -Fongwan

Local investors have built hotels and other tourism-oriented establishments in five eco-tourism areas in Benguet over the past five years in support of the eco-tourism program of President Gloria Maqcapagal Arroyo nationwide.

Benguet provincial governor Nestor Fongwan, said that with the development, visitors can stay longer in the unique and idyllic tourists spots here and the towns of Mankayan, Bakun, Buguias and Itogon without worrying about time to return to their staging points in Baguio City.

Records show that adventurers in Benguet had come to love the verdant sceneries of rolling hills and terraces of vegetables and rice; the seldom-trodden paths leading to ancient burial caves; Mount Pulag which offers a view of northern Luzon at the top being the second highest peak of the Philippines; hectares of gardens where cutflowers like roses, mums, anthuriums and crysanthemums grow in abundance and the waterfalls in practically all the province’s 13 towns.

“There are six new inns and hotels in La Trinidad; three in Mankayan, one each in Bakun, Buguias and Itogon. Our provincemates who are capable of building these facilities are helping much for the improvement of our eco-tourism,” Fonwan said.

The local investments on tourism not only complemented the steady market of agricultural products but also helped in increasing the local job opportunities of the residents.