Tourism in Sagada, Mountain Province

Abstract

Tourism plays a huge role in development. Tourist demands have gigantic impacts economic, environmental, and social levels of the society. The Philippine, being endowed with natural resources and its people exhibiting a myriad of amalgamated culture has seen the flourishing of tourism. Hence, the country capitalized on this as a business. The Department of Tourism currently recorded a tourist volume’s increase of 5.37% for 2010 vis-à-vis the same period in 2009 (http://www.wowphilippines.com.ph). Many provinces in the archipelago have made their marks in the map as tourist hotspots. Palawan, Cebu, and Baguio City to name a few have become very popular tourist destinations. The success of tourism in these places had apparently greatly contributed to community development. The case is similar with the municipality of Sagada. It is but a fifth class municipality in the northern part of Mountain Province yet it has experienced noticeable development changes lately because of the tourism industry that has rapidly boomed over the years. For several decades, Sagada has been attracting thousands of tourists not just from the archipelago but the globe as a whole. It has been a hotspot for visitors who are into adventure, sports, nature challenges, cultural experience and for those who would like to have their own doze of country living. Approximately 24,000 tourists, both foreign and local, frequent this place annually (tourist Information Center, 2007) Because of the influx of these tourists, the townspeople had been clamoring to make their own livelihood activities that are tourism-related. This research is about exploring the tourism industry of Sagada, Mountain Province, focusing on the industry’s current status. Specifically, it aimed to answer the following questions: 1. What is the status of the tourism industry of Sagada, Mountain Province as to: a. programs, policies and projects b. tourism-related establishments c. revenue and employment generated d. Butler’s Life Cycle Theory

2. What are the problems encountered by the tourism industry in terms of the following aspects: a. economic b. socio-cultural c. environment

3. What programs may be development to uplift the tourism industry of the municipality of Sagada? Data to answer these research problems were obtained using interview questionnaires for individual interviews and the focus group discussion, document analysis and participant observation. These were then analyzed and interpreted by utilizing the SWOT analysis.