Bolinao to collect P40 “user” fee from tourists
THE Bolinao municipal government will soon collect P40 “user fee” from tourists that will visit the tourism spots here starting February this year.
Municipal tourism officer Mary de Guzman said the fee is authorized by Municipal Ordinance No.2017-04 and will be imposed on individuals and groups entering the town’s tourist spots.
The P40 fee consists of P25 as environmental fee and P15 as registration fee and valid for four days.
De Guzman said a receipt or sticker will be issued as a proof of payment and the bearer can thus visit any attractions in Bolinao within four days. After the ticket expires, tourists will have to pay another P40.
Collection posts will be set up in Patar Beach and Bolinao Falls.
“Local residents of Bolinao shall be exempted from the environmental fee provided he or she shows proof of residency such as passport, community tax residence, voter’s identification, among others,” said De Guzman.
The town recorded a total of 532,142 tourist arrivals in 2019, but de Guzman said the municipal government did not have direct income from the tourist arrivals because they were not collecting environmental and registration fees.
“Unlike in other tourism areas, tourists who visited our town’s tourist spots were not asked to pay fees to the municipal government, nonetheless, they contributed to the income of business establishments in our area, as well as to the employment of our residents,” she said.
User’s fee, she added, can also boost the income of the local economy and supplement the livelihood of the local communities.
The most visited place here is the white sand beach in Barangay Patar and the three falls, she said. These are Bolinao falls 1, 2 and 3.
The other tourist attractions in the town are the Silaqui Giant Clam Nursery; Dewey Sandbars; St. James Great Parish, one of the oldest Catholic churches in the country; Cape Bolinao Lighthouse and Balingasay River. (Helen Martin)
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