Sagada Municipality imposes regulations to control tourist activities

Sagada Waterfalls

The local government of Sagada, in the Cordillera Mountains province of Philippine, has imposed new rules to control the number of visitors and to ensure discipline of the tourists in the site, in order to control the rush in the coming holidays.

It was announced by the Sagada Municpality on their Facebook page on Friday.

“We would like to advise the public of our tourism regulations in Sagada during long weekends, holidays and peak season. These rules are in line with the on-going process of making Sagada a responsible tourism destination,” sated the Facebook message.

Sagada is a popular destination for hiking and spelunking in Mountain Province.

It imposed new tourism rules as nearby Baguio City continued to suffer from traffic standstills and gridlocks due to the deluge of visitors travelling to the so-called summer capital.

Hanging coffins, Sagada

The following are the town’s new regulations:

ON TOURS:

  1. Tours in and around Sagada must only be run by the local guides’ organizations: SEGA, SAGGAS, SETGO, KIGA, ASSETG and BFTAMPGA for Northern Sagada.
  2. Travel agencies, groups, and individuals must register for the tours at the Tourist Information Office.
  3. There will be a limited number of tourists allowed per site per day, so make sure you book your tours earlier.
  4. All tours require a guide. All tourists who do not have a guide will not be able to enter the site.

ON TRANSPORT AND TRAFFIC:

  1. Only local transport shall be allowed to ferry tours to tourist sites so as not to create traffic in tourist destinations.
  2. All tourist vehicles are required to park their vehicles all throughout the duration of their stay in their hotel parking area or in pay parking areas and avail of the local transport to visit the different sites.
  3. Tourists are obliged to walk around town to visit shops, restaurants and nearby tourist spots.

Caves in Sagada

ON ACCOMMODATIONS:

  1. Only LGU registered and DOT-accredited hostels/inns/home-stays under the Sagada Inns and Hotels Association (SIHA) will be allowed to operate for tourist accommodations.
  2. Please follow standard prices for accommodation in Sagada. No haggling and no free beds.

ON WASTE MANAGEMENT:

  1. Bring your own refillable water tumblers. Disposable water bottles are not allowed.
  2. Throw your garbage at designated disposal areas.
  3. Travel agencies/tour groups must bring out their garbage upon leaving Sagada.