The Alaminos City Tourism Office is offering anew its land-tour package featuring the Bued Mangrove Park, St. Joseph Cathedral, Bolo beach, engineered kawayan (bamboo) factory, and its market.

These sites are on top of the famous Hundred Islands National Park (HINP).

City tourism officer-in-charge Rosalie Aruelo, in a phone interview on Friday, said they are expanding the tourism offerings of the city to boost tourist arrivals and to help tourism workers.

“We are partnering with tour operators to promote the land tour since there is more to see in our city not just the HINP,” she said in Filipino.

The Bued Mangrove Park in Barangay Bued has a 448-meter-long boardwalk, which is open to the public from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.

One of the activities in the park is bird watching as migratory birds are usually seen in the area in the early morning and late afternoon.

Meanwhile, the St. Joseph Cathedral is the first church in the city. It was built in 1770 but was burned down in several fire incidents, the first of which is in 1817. It has been rebuilt and improved over the past years.

Relatively, the Bolo Beach offers pristine white sand beach in the outer parts of the city. Several resorts and other tourism establishments offer various gastronomic experiences for either party people or those who just want to chill.

The engineered kawayan factory, on the other hand, allows visitors to see in person how the award-winning souvenirs made of bamboo are made.

Also, the city’s market is where a tourist can take a glimpse of the everyday lives of the people. It is also a place where the famous and delicious Alaminos longganisa (pork sausage) can be bought.

The local government is keen on enticing more visitors after weather disturbances affected tourist arrivals in HINP last year, Aruelo said.

In 2024, tourist arrivals in Hundred Islands fell by almost 12 percent to 386,073 from year-ago’s 438,619, which Aruelo attributed to weather disturbances since September.

Aruelo said more facilities and attractions are set to be opened in the HINP starting this month.

“We are working on the improvements of facilities. A chapel, museum, and function hall or retreat hall in Ramos Island beside the Pilgrimage Island are set to be opened to the public within the month,” she added. (PNA)