The Catanduanes Tourism Office, bolstered by a significant increase in visitor arrivals last year, said Tuesday it will step up its promotion of the province through a digital platform to sustain the upward trend.

In an interview, Carmel Garcia, Catanduanes Tourism Office chief, said they recorded 127,619 tourist arrivals for 2023, which showed a 7 percent growth from 119,710 in 2022.

“For 2024, we are targeting at least 150,000 tourist arrivals. This is a very conservative target since we want to strengthen our promotion by engaging more in digital platforms. We will also engage more and sustain active participation in different travel and tour expo,” Garcia said.

She said through travel and tour expositions, they were able to showcase the island’s captivating beauty, rich culture, and exciting tourism offerings.

“These expos provided us an excellent opportunity to network with travel enthusiasts, industry professionals, and potential visitors. The province’s enthusiastic participation in these events shows its dedication to promoting and sharing the distinctive allure of Catanduanes with other destinations, not only in the Philippines but also worldwide,” she said.

Garcia added that they plan to use various social media platforms to showcase what Catanduanes has to offer to tourists.

“We want to showcase more tour packages, tour guides, and simple tour plans on how to go and where to stay here in the province. We want to let the tourists know that we have more to offer, the different sites in the province that will make their stay memorable,” she added.

Based on their data, at least 155,695 jobs were created in 2023, contributing significantly to the province’s local economy.

“Tourism creates bigger opportunities for the province, with employment generation, we were able to provide livelihood to the locals. The tourism sector continues to play a pivotal role in fostering employment and income opportunities,” she said.

Domestic tourism receipts generated PHP151.4 million for the province and PHP7.9 million for foreign tourism receipts.

“This is the money that they spend while staying in the province. The top three foreign markets are Russia, Australia, and the United States of America,” Garcia said. (PNA)