Sagada tourism

HAPPY WEEKEND
Gina Dizon

SAGADA, Mountain Province -- It was an equally demanding and exciting three day and a half strategic planning workshop conducted by regional Department of Tourism senior tourism officers Mary Bilagot and Ar`mi Legaspina and resource persons Gina Gacusan, Paterno Laboy, and Aris Della from the regional National Economic and Development Authority.

With the initiative of Vice Mayor Richard Yodong delegated to handle tourism concerns in Sagada, talks with DOT authorities prospered to the holding of the planning session held Sept. 20-23 at St Jo Café here.

The workshop drew concerns and problems from 65 participants including sectoral representatives from tourist guides, inn and resto entrepreneurs, gift shop owners, elders, media, and local government unit concerned personnel, about tourism in Sagada.

For one, the short stay of tourists and having no more reason to stay means lesser income for the community. Where tourism is a major source of income especially for residents located in the central part of the town, there is no reason not to make the industry improve.

Tourists in most cases, both local and foreign stay in Sagada for two days most times during the weekends, then leave on the third day having seen projected tourist spots to see.

The question is what else is there to see and what else is there to do. Exploring Sagada goes beyond more than the natural spots and this is where the tourism planning drew what else is there to see and experience. The planning session went to identifying agricultural activities where visitors interested can take a dip in the rice fields and plant rice seedlings or do some harvesting when its ani (harvest) time.

Or it may be the Begnas (agricultural festival) season and it may be interesting to a tourist to attend an agricultural festival and be part in the dancing and playing of the gongs. And this happens at least thrice a year- one in July, October and March.

Or take this: some skills sharing and hands- on feel on how pottery is done by local potters is quite interesting offered by two pottery workshop spots in Danonoy and along Mapiya-ao road. Or getting a feel of the dagdagay (traditional massage) would be quite a relaxing experience as indoor activities especially during the rainy season when going out is not advisable unless the visitor would love to walk under the rain then that would be quite an experience walking under the rain in Sagada. Or be transported to the ages of history and hear stories from long ago legends and folklores, or why an agricultural ritual is being done from an elder.

A lengthened stay for at least four to five days would take the traveler to different levels of experience in Sagada. While nightlife is very much limited with only a couple of music joints which offer canned music and some live guitar jamming with some local folksingers occasionally, the traveler is treated to some reggae music from Bob Marley or some golden 70’s or 80’s hits of folk or country music played by a local. What more, the locals jam with the tourists and know their stories too, where they come from and what brought them to Sagada.

But watch out. With a place where curfew hour is strict and where neighbors do not like noise beyond 10 o’clock at night makes music and jamming a no no. Otherwise, a scheduled music or cultural interaction among tourists and the locals once a week on a Friday or Saturday night could be tolerable .

In a tourist town with a number reaching up to some 24 thousand in 2010 and 30 thousand in 2008 brings to a question if this number can reach up to a 40 to 50 thousand visitors a year.

Visitors from Manila and other parts of the country top arrivals in this tourist town for the first four months of year 2011 with April registering the most visitors. January to April 2011 arrivals note 81% or 10,020 of 12,343 visitors, records from the Sagada Tourist Information Center reveals.

Also for the year ending 2010, local tourists topped arrivals in this tourist town. Of the total 23,944 tourists who visited the country last year, 78% or 18,735 came from different places of the Philippines.

For year ending 2010, the French are the second highest arrivals totaling 713; followed by Koreans with 647 arrivals; 527 from the US, and 419 from Germany.

The peak season starts mid November, moves on December during the yuletide season and heats up February during the town fiesta or what is now called Etag festival on to April during the Holy Week.

Tourists slow down May during the rainy season on to June to October. They begin arriving again during the weekends in trickles. This brings to question what activities or other attractions the community can offer during the rainy season. In a fairly conservative remote town north of the country where farming is still a major source of livelihood, and where rituals play a strong factor in the planting and harvest of crops, tourism activities could only play within the cultural acceptance of the community and what is considered environmentally protective of sustainable agriculture.