Baguio City crafts tourism plan highlighting homegrown artists

By Pamela Mariz Geminiano

BAGUIO CITY -- The city tourism office is now finalizing the crafting of a comprehensive tourism development plan that will highlight homegrown artists in a bid to keep Baguio's "creative city" tag.

“We really need to find out what tourists are really looking for. Now we can identify our assets that can be highlighted to give an experiential tourism experience for the tourists," Baguio tourism officer Aloysius said in an interview.

Mapalo gave a glimpse of what could be expected from the upcoming tourism program. He said "small" local artists will be given their “space” in the city’s tourism promotion, as they contribute much to the experiential tourism that the city aims to focus on. 

He said the tourism plan is aimed at retaining Baguio's "creative city" tag from the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). 

Baguio City Tourism Officer Aloysius Mapalo (PNA-Baguio File Photo)

In November last year, UNESCO placed Baguio on its Creative Cities Network, for the city's distinguished crafts and folk art.

Mapalo said the tag is an affirmation of Baguio's identity as a city of creative people.

“Tourists flock to the city not only because of our cool climate, but also because of the creativity of the people in the communities. Witnessing creativity through people is a one-of-a-kind experience,” he said.

People visiting Baguio often include seeing, buying, or experiencing the city's local arts and crafts in their itinerary.

Aside from museums of art and crafts, there are also shops that not only offer finished products, but also allow visitors to see how the products are made, step by step.

One of the favorite arts and crafts destinations is the museum of National Artist for Visual Arts BenCab in Asin Road in Tuba town, also known as the gateway to the Summer Capital of the Philippines.

The Tam-awan Village is another famous site. It offers indigenous craftsmanship, through all its services, from sketching sessions with live models to displays of Cordillera lifestyle art, including the traditional huts in the highland region.

Narda’s Arts and Crafts and the Easter Weaving Room are two more artistic enterprises that showcase crafts, which visitors can do themselves.

While finalizing the tourism plan, Mapalo said the city is also staging in November the Baguio Creative Festival, highlighting the homegrown artists of the city.

"This will be the beginning of grassroots empowerment,” he said.

Baguio City remains to be of the country's top tourist spot based on data from the Philippine Statistics Authority in Cordillera. It said Baguio received a total of 1.5 million tourists in 2017, or 77 percent of the region’s total tourist arrivals of 1.96 million.

“We are still in the process of improving the branding of the city, to sustain the influx of foreign and domestic tourists, who would want to have a good and memorable experience," Mapalo said.

Such experience is what would make visitors come back and say good things about the city, he said. -- PNA