By Perla Lena/PNA
ILOILO CITY — About 50 percent of hotels here are now fully booked for the duration of the Dinagyang Festival slated on January 25 to 27.
In a press conference Wednesday, Tourism Operations Officer Florence King Erlano said the city is expecting a lot of guests to attend this year’s festival due to the massive promotions last year.
“We have Korean TV (television) last year and we expect that they can bring in more guests,” he said.
Erlano noted some hotels released their Dinagyang package rate as early as November 2018.
The holding capacity of hotels, including pension houses, in the city is more than 4,300 rooms, he said.
Erlano said hotel rooms mostly occupied are those situated near the judging areas as tourists find it convenient if they are close to the performance venue.
While not all of the hotels are accredited with the Department of Tourism (DOT), he added they also have tourism licenses.
“When we inspect their tourism licenses, we also check on their facilities. So far, we have not received complaints about our hotels that are not accredited,” he added.
Erlano thus encouraged those that are not yet accredited to secure one so they can be included in the promotions of the DOT and the city government.
Dinagyang Festival is being held annually in Iloilo in honor of Señor Santo Niño.
