City Government of Baguio, the Philippines

About

Baguio is located in the island of Luzon, which is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Its geographic location is at 16.411999° N and 120.59834° E with an elevation of 1,400 meters above sea level. The city has a resident population of 366,358 for 2020 growing at 1.54% per year that can reach 600,000 to almost 1 million during peak season of tourist arrivals. Nighttime population is 380,000. Population density is placed at 6,005 per square meter.  

It is a landlocked mountainous city also referred to as the “City of Pines” and the “Summer Capital of the Philippines”, popular for its temperate climate and rich cultural background.  It has a land area of 5,749 hectares.  As to its land cover: 9.81% are declared as watershed and protected forest; 1.41% as parks and recreation areas; 11.04% are open spaces; and the rest are settlement areas. 

The city is 206 kilometers away from Manila which takes about four hours to drive. It serves as the gateway to other municipalities in the Cordillera Region mountains. It is the only highly urbanized city in the region. The City is the center for education, trade, and tourism in the Cordillera region.  It was also declared as a UNESCO Creative City because of its rich culture and tradition in arts and crafts. 

Baguio is also home to one of the country’s most profitable Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) areas called the Baguio City Economic Zone (BCEZ). The BCEZ caters to 44 locators which produce textiles, wearing apparel, electronics, plastic products and others. Production output in the BCEZ accounts for the bulk of the Cordillera’s total exports. The City is also considered the financial center of the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR). There are 82 banks operating in the city. Of these, 48 are commercial, 23 are rural and cooperative and 11 thrift banks. 

Baguio is still the Summer Capital of the Philippines and remains to be among the top 14 travel destinations in the country. It is also among the top 20 destinations for Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibition (MICE). It received close to 1.3 million tourists in 2016, with tourism receipts amounting to Php 8.1 billion.