By Ric Sapnu/PNA
CLARK FREEPORT, Pampanga — More than 500,000 tourists visited this Freeport in 2018, according to the Clark Development Corporation (CDC).
Based on the report of the CDC Tourism and Promotions Division (TPD), 509,328 tourists and guests came last year to participate in some 200 various events held here.
CDC president and CEO Noel F. Manankil said on Tuesday that the activities included 43 running events that generated 49,303 tourists, three festivals with 71,221 attendees, and 14 spectators’ events with 50,094 participants.
Likewise, Manankil said that some 19 biking, duathlon and triathlon activities generated 23,817 participants while 148 other events comprising the use of open spaces attracted an additional 314,893 tourists.
“Accordingly, these numbers indicate an upsurge compared to the numbers of tourists in 2017 which was recorded at 284,189 generated from 115 events,” he added.
Some of the major events that were held here last year were the Trinx Bikes World record event, which attempted to break the Guinness World Record for longest single line of bicycle parade and was attended by 4,999 bikers from different parts of the country, and the Pinas Cup 2018 participated in by 115 football teams.
Likewise, the 6th Clark Festival and reopening of the lifestyle weekend market Comercio Central that featured authentic local dishes and products, generated an estimated foot traffic of 25,000 guests per day.
Tourists generated by hotels and other events are not included in the reports gathered by TPD.
