BAGUIO CITY – A top official of the Department of Transportation and Communications here said the best way to attract more foreign and domestic tourists to Baguio would be a cable car system from the lowland province of La Union to this mountain resort city.
The proposed cable car system will help shorten the one-and-a-half hour travel time from Baguio to La Union and vice versa to only 30 minutes, and would provide tourists a breathtaking view of the surrounding countryside.
DOTC Undersecretary Giling Mamondiyong said there is no longer room for the expansion of Baguio’s Loakan Airport although it will still remain open for smaller planes. He said the development of the Poro Point International Airport in nearby San Fernando City, La Union will also help strengthen the local tourism industry.
Mamondiyong told local officials that he will request President Arroyo to allocate funds for a feasibility study for a cable car system, which he said will also address the perennial problem of major road closures between Baguio and the lowlands during typhoons and landslides.
The DOTC official admitted that the development of the Poro Point International Airport slowed down a bit because of marketing problems that could result to bigger problems in the future. He said appropriate remedies are being implemented to make the airport operational within the year.
The airport was supposed to begin full operations last October to cater to the increasing number of tourist arrivals in La Union, from where tourists usually motor up to Baguio.
Mamondiyong said the national government is not abandoning plans to rehabilitate and upgrade the Poro Point airport because it will serve as an air transport hub in Northern Luzon.
The official said establishing a cable car system between La Union and Baguio could be one of the best legacies of the Arroyo administration to the people of Northern Luzon who rely on tourism as a major source of income. Manila Daily Bulletin, February 9, 2010
http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/242696/cable-car-system-link-la-union-baguio-pushed
Photo: Romanian cable car
3 comments:
The cable car is an excellent idea; but it will still not be operational during the height of the typhoon season. It's also not safe from mudslides caused by heavy rains and the high winds that will be originating from the South China Sea.
An international airport should be developed at Poro Point and a commercial helicopter must be available to transport people from the PPIA into Loakan. These helicopters are similar to what the military use to transport heavy equipment.
Is the pictured cable car in Lucerne?
Hello Anony, this is actually in a town called Sinaia in the Prahova Valley in Romania.
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