Over 650,000 tourists have visited Aurora province in Central Luzon the first six months of this year.
Records of the Aurora Tourism Office show that a total of 653,054 tourists visited the province from January to June, which indicates that the province’s tourism industry is on the road to recovery from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The data were based on reports from the municipal tourism offices of the province’s eight towns — Baler, Dinalungan, San Luis, Casiguran, Dilasag, Maria Aurora, Dinalungan, Dingalan, and Dipaculao.
The towns of Maria Aurora, Baler, Dipaculao, and Dingalan offer many interesting and inviting tourist destination sites.
Department of Tourism Central Luzon regional office (DOT-3) Supervising Tourism Operations Officer Chriselle May Yambao said they are rebranding Aurora’s tourism assets to include dive, surfing, trekking and wellness sites, to attract even more tourists.
She said what they do “is a very unique type of product development wherein we pair up activities and not only concentrate on only one activity, since Aurora is very rich in natural resources with its mountains and seascapes.”
Yambao suggests attractive freediving sites in the Barangay Dibutunan Marine Protected Area (MPA), Digisit MPA, and Dicasalarin. Other dive sites will also be opened shortly once the LGU guidelines are finalized.
The DOT-3 officer said local residents will also be trained and certified as freediving guides to ensure the safety of visiting divers.
In terms of wellness activities, she said Aurora is an ideal place for meditation and yoga because of its beautiful natural scenery. “We are hoping that aside from diving and surfing, the province will also become a focus of alternative wellness activities,” she added.