By HENRY EMPEÑO |

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT — As temperature rises, so does Subic sizzle as a tourist spot.

According to the Department of Tourism (DoT) in Region 3, this premier commercial and industrial center has maintained its hold as the most popular tourist destination in Central Luzon last year, a feat it has been repeating each year since 2013.

DoT’s 2018 Report on the Regional Distribution of Travelers indicated that the Subic Bay Freeport recorded a total of 1,729,435 guest arrivals in 2018 out of the total 4,144,130 posted in the region.

This represented 41.73% of the total guest arrivals documented in the seven provinces of Central Luzon and the two economic zones of Subic and Clark Freeport in Pampanga.

Following Subic, the nearby province of Zambales emerged as the second best destination with 674,359 arrivals, while Clark was a distant third with 473,162.

The province of Bulacan came next with 451,426, followed by Nueva Ecija, 305,603; Pampanga, 266,612; Aurora, 176,818; Bataan, 53,339; and Tarlac, 13,376.

Summer, in particular, provided Subic with the most number of guest arrivals. DoT records showed a total of 158,990 guest arrivals in March; 166,799 in April; and 163,384 in May.

While December still posted the most visitors at 182,885 last year, the summer months still brought in the longest haul of local and foreign tourist arrivals, DoT figures showed.

At the same time, the DoT report indicated that most of the visitors in Central Luzon last year were domestic tourists, with a total count of 3,798,848. Foreign arrivals were recorded at 338,305 while overseas guests numbered 6,977.

Central Luzon’s top tourist markets in 2018, the DoT also said, were Korea at 107,247 arrivals; Unites States of America, 52,249; China, 26,497; Japan, 12,686; and Australia, 9,823.

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma took pride in the DoT findings and said that SBMA efforts to surpass its own tourism performance in the last few years were paying off.

“This is the result of the efforts not only of the SBMA, or of the tourism establishments in Subic to draw more tourists, but of the whole Freeport community to make our place cleaner, safer, more secure and providing more memorable experiences,” Eisma said.

“The SBMA, the residents of the Freeport, and the companies, schools and other institutions that operate in the Subic Bay Freeport have been working hard together to maintain this outstanding tourism rating, and I’m so glad that we’re getting outstanding results,” she added.

The Subic Bay Freeport Zone has registered that highest number of local and foreign tourists in Central Luzon since 2013, according to figures compiled by the DoT. The said agency also named Subic the “Premier Convention Capital of Central Luzon” in 2012.

Just recently, Subic was named the fifth “hottest” destination in the Philippines today by Traveloka, Southeast Asia’s leading online booking platform for hotels.

This after Subic recorded a +95% in tourist arrivals from 2018 to 2019, a figure higher than the average 74% increase for the top 12 local destinations that Traveloka has monitored for the same period.

Traveloka’s visitors count only placed four other destinations ahead of Subic: Basco in Batanes with +386% arrivals; Legazpi City, +197%; General Santos City, +174%; and Laoag City, +160%.