• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The 1,291,190 tourist arrivals in Negros Occidental over more than six months of this year has generated an initial P3,362,210,475 in income for the province, according to records of the Provincial Tourism Office.
Among the visitors, the Provincial Tourism Office reported 396,721 were overnight tourists, while 894,029 were same day visitors.
The P3.3 billion in tourist receipts is 54 percent of the P6,225,314,500 earned by the province from tourist arrivals in 2023.
Provincial Tourism Officer Cheryl Decena disclosed that they are banking on overnight tourists, as they are the ones who spend more.
Despite the phreatic eruption of Kanlaon volcano, tourist arrivals in Negros Occidental were not affected, according to Decena.
Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson earlier announced that the provincial government plans to expand the Mambukal Resort and Wildlife Sanctuary, after acquiring a special patent for the land it has occupied for 60 years.
With the acquisition of the special patent title, Lacson said, “There will be improvements. In fact, we bought some land beside the 24-hectare Mambukal property we own.”
He further explained, “We bought some land beside it because we would like to expand the facilities in Mambukal.”
Lacson noted that improvements would include additional villas, stating, “We would like to utilize a certain area of Mambukal for high-end facilities to attract more tourists.”*
