BAGUIO CITY – As the holiday season draws crowds to Baguio City, tourists are increasingly vigilant about the authenticity of their lodging options. The local tourism office has noted a surge in inquiries to the Baguio Visita hotlines and website, where visitors seek to confirm the legitimacy of accommodation establishments before booking.
The Baguio Visita service, accessible via phone numbers (074) 4462009, 09565729097, 09565729093, and 09565729094, or through the website at https://visita.baguio.gov.ph, has been instrumental in this verification process. City tourism officer Aloysius Mapalo mentioned during a Rizal Day event that the hotlines, staffed around the clock, have been busy since Christmas, handling numerous requests to check the validity of accommodations.
Mapalo also highlighted the rise in scams, particularly through social media, where fraudsters demand payment in advance for bookings and then become unreachable. Although only one formal complaint has been lodged, the tourism office has launched awareness campaigns to alert tourists to these risks.
The city maintains a list of approximately 900 legitimate establishments capable of hosting around 13,000 tourists. Mapalo encouraged owners of new establishments to register their properties to be included in this list, noting that businesses that opened this year are not yet listed. He also pointed out that the increase in scams has been noticeable since the end of the Covid-19 pandemic.