BAUKO, Mountain Province – The municipal government decided to open the town’s tourism industry for vaccinated tourists coming from different parts of the country as part of the ongoing efforts of concerned government agencies to gradually and safely revive the heavily impacted economy.
However, Mayor Abraham B. Akilit stated that the restrictions will be imposed to tourists from high risk areas like the National Capital Region (NCR) will be stricter as they are compelled to present to the border checkpoints negative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test results taken 72 hours prior to their travel to the locality.
The municipal chief executive stipulated that with the ongoing decline in the number of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases amidst the emergence of the Omicron variant, there is a need for local governments to start reviving their heavily impacted economy to allow people to get back their jobs and economic activities for their sustenance.
Mayor Akilit admitted that the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic and its related restrictions have allowed the tourist spots to naturally regenerate that allows for refreshing experiences for visitors.
Bauko is host to some towering and majestic mountains, natural trekking destinations, scenic view points and refreshing waterfalls and rice terraces carved along the mountain slopes.
The town is the most populated municipality among the 10 local governments that comprise the Mountain Province, with a population of more than 35,000.
According to Akilit, tourism has been identified by the municipal government as its major economic driver thus tourism-related activities must start to be resumed to allow the concerned industry stakeholders to recover from the heavy impact that was inflicted by the pandemic to the industry.
He pointed out that by aggressively promoting the local tourism industry, it is also enticing the residents and visitors to join hands in preserving and protecting the town’s environment as it serves as the backbone of the tourism industry that provides sustainable sources of livelihood to the people wanting to engage themselves in responsible tourism activities.
Aside from the scenic tourist spots, Bauko also boasts of good local foods and delicacies in demand among visitors frequenting the various.
Bauko serves as a gateway to other tourist destinations in the central Cordillera like in the provinces of Kalinga, Ifugao and eastern Mountain Province. By HENT