After postponing its celebration in 2020 due to the pandemic, the most awaited Panagbenga festival is back for its face-to-face celebration, which created a great start to the city’s upcoming tourism activities.

On February 25, the Panagbenga festival in Baguio City draws tourists once again as they feature local schools and cultural dances during the grand street parade and stunning flower floats.

The former mayor and member of Baguio Flower Festival Foundation Inc. Mauricio Domogan disclosed that the police authorities’ reports revealed the total capacity of individuals who participated during the weekend celebration of Panagbenga was more than 500,000.

The former mayor and member of Baguio Flower Festival Foundation Inc. Mauricio Domogan disclosed that the police authorities’ reports revealed the total capacity of individuals who participated during the weekend celebration of Panagbenga was more than 500,000.

With the goal of continuously maintaining the number of tourists in the city, the officials of the foundation disclosed that there would be more activities to be launched after the Panabenga festival season.

“We saw the effect of revenge travel. So kailangan talaga ng activities to supplement and attract more tourists,” Ramon Cabrera said.

He also said that finding activities was a challenge for them, as they need to provide something exciting every year to attract more tourists after the Panagbenga festival.

With this, it was disclosed by Anthony de Leon that the city is bound to open a hotel and restaurant tourism weekend that will be composed of culinary competitions, food expos, and training.

Besides this, there will also be a competition that encourages students and other individuals to pitch their best tourism packages for Cordillera, which can encourage residents to actively participate in pushing the tourism sector of the city.

All of these activities will be participated in by judges from different parts of the country to also let them see the beauty and culture of Baguio.

“Itong ibang ino-organize namin ay parang complimentary to our Panagbenga. And at the same time, it focuses on training and teaching those who are going to be future leaders of the hospitality industry and tourism,” De Leon said.

The celebration of the Panagbenga festival this year marks its first comeback after the pandemic, as the Baguio City government decided to postpone its 25th anniversary in 2020 when the first COVID-19 case in the country was recorded.

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