Big tourist bucks seen for Puerto Princesa Underground River

Puerto Princesa Underground River

PUERTO PRINCESA—With the skyrocketing popularity of the Puerto Princesa Underground River (PPUR)—especially after its official declaration as one of the new natural wonders of the world, visitor numbers may top 1.2 million by 2016, more than twice the number in 2011.

Scientific projections of the Puerto Princesa City Tourism Office show two million tourists checking out the PPUR by 2025, according to city tourism officer Rebecca Labit.

Labit said that in 2011, tourists to the PPUR numbered 500,146 and they spent P9 billion in Puerto Princesa.

The PPUR has become so popular Labit has advised visitors to book their rooms in advance as hotels are usually full and city officials have imposed a cap on the number of visitors who can go on the underground river daily.

“Book early so you would not be disappointed,” she said.

Labit said there were about 100 hotels, pension houses and inns in Puerto Princesa. All told, around 2,000 rooms were available and could accommodate 4,000 people.

The tourists number some 1,200 to 1,500 a day, she said. In the past, it got about 10 visitors a month.

According to Labit, the number of tourists coming to Puerto Princesa had been on a steady rise since the 1990s, especially after the underground river was declared a Unesco World Heritage Site.

But when the campaign to include the PPUR among the new seven wonders of nature began in 2007, the number of visitors skyrocketed.

From a rise of 18 to 20 percent in tourist numbers in past years, in 2010 this rose to 50 percent.

The increasing number of tourists has resulted in ever rising revenue for Puerto Princesa.

In 2009, total tourist receipts was P3.2 billion, in 2010 this ran up to P6.2 billion.

Last year it was P9 billion.

Labit said a tourist spends P4,000 to P5,000 a day in Puerto Princesa. She noted the cost of tourism in the city was higher compared to Hong Kong, for instance.