City tourism sector logs P1.2 billion losses during lockdown

August 22, 2020 Metro BLISTT

Members of the Hotel and Restaurant Association of Baguio, last week, came knocking at the doors of City Hall, practically begging for a chance to revive what was before the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (Covid-19) a lucrative tourism economy.
In a position paper, HRAB detailed how Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) data reflected how lodging businesses lost projected income of more than P28-Million per month from April to June this year, compared to the same period in 2019.
The numbers translate to a 75-percent income loss for the period or a total of P84 million in three-months. In a meeting with city managers, medical frontliners, and local businessmen, HRAB manifested the closure of some businesses was felt heavily by employees in lodging businesses, who lost some P80 million in projected collective income from April to June. Wage earners from restaurant businesses meantime suffered projected income of P40.9 million for the same period.
This, as the establishments employing them collectively failed to realize P107.5 million in monthly income or a total P322.7 million in three months.
Meantime in the transportation business, employees in provincial bus operations suffered some P89 million in lost income as their companies failed to realize an aggregate income of more than P1.2- billion in the three months. Resultantly, the situation triggered “domino effect” on other businesses involving allied micro, small, and medium enterprises, which were forced to fold up as the pandemic dragged on. Retrenchment and business closures followed. The Permits and Licensing Office said 53-businesses closed.
Julie Fianza