Ang Pahayagan

ZAMBALES — Following the arrival here of more than 94,000 tourists during the Holy Week’s long weekend, Zambales, which recorded more than 1.25 million tourist arrivals last year, expects to receive more visitors this summer despite the ongoing energy crunch caused by the Middle East conflict.

Tel Mora, head of the Zambales Provincial Tourism and Investment Promotion Office (PTIPO), said the bulk of tourists and visitors arrive in the peak tourism months of March, April and May, coinciding with the celebration of the annual Zambales mango festival and other cultural events in the province.

Mora said that tourism establishments have been sprucing up their facilities, while local government units checked permits, as well as sanitary and fire safety requirements in preparation for the expected tourist swarm.

In San Antonio town, named the top municipal tourist attraction in Central Luzon in the recent Tourism Recognition for Enterprises and Stakeholders (TRES) Awards, LGU workers and community volunteers combed beaches at the Capones and Camara islands to ensure they are clean when visitors arrive.

San Antonio, which is also the top tourist generator in Zambales, recorded a dramatic recovery in arrivals since the Covid-19 slump in 2020-2021. In 2022, the town posted 217,913 arrivals, a 755% increase over the 2021 arrival figure of 25,496. The numbers consistently grew to 240,953 in 2023; 318,330 in 2024; and 400,455 in 2025.

At the nearby surfing town of San Narciso, which received 79,425 tourists last year, the municipal government officially launched its Centralized Lifeguard System that will deploy certified lifeguards to provide a more secure beach environment and enable emergency response.

In San Felipe, the second-placer in TRES Awards’ top municipal destination (292, 356 tourists in 2025), local government teams were also placed on full alert for coastal safety measures, traffic management, and crowd control during the peak summer tourism months.

Kevin Nacabuan, PTIPO’s supervising tourism operations officer, said more than 600,000 visitors are projected to come to Zambales this summer, the average number recorded in the past three years.

“The Holy Week arrivals usually give us an idea of how many visitors to expect,” Nacabuan explained, adding that most visitors in that period come from Metro Manila and nearby provinces.

PTIPO data indicated that more than 4.87 million tourists arrived in Zambales from 2019 to 2025, with the leanest number recorded during the Covid pandemic in 2020 at 72,615 arrivals. The number of visitors continued climbing in recent years, with a total of 740,027 in 2022; 929,397 in 2023; 1,011,723 in 2024; and 1,254,049 last year.

Mora said these numbers represented tourist overnight stays, and did not count visitors arriving just for day tours.

Among the destinations here that attract the most visitors are the Anawangin, Talisayen, Nagsasa, and Silanguin coves in San Antonio; Mt. Pinatubo in Botolan; Mt. Tapulao and Bagsit River in Palauig; Coto Mines Kids Pool in Masinloc; Mapanuepe Lake in San Narciso; and Mt. Mariglem in Cabangan.

Meanwhile, beach and inland resorts scattered in all the 13 Zambales towns provide comfortable amenities that balance the adventure-themed natural attractions.

Mora said the provincial government is closely coordinating with local tourism establishments and LGUs in the strict implementation and enforcement of laws to ensure the well-being of visitors throughout their stay in Zambales, and to guarantee the sustainability of the local tourism industry.

Previous estimates showed that Zambales generated around P1.3 billion in tourism income annually, with about P70.8 million collected from environmental fees alone. (Taktikom News and Features)

📸Tourists crowd the beaches on April 3 at Liwliwa in San Felipe, Zambales (San Felipe As One photos)