Estimating tourism losses due to COVID-19 Pandemic: The case of Puerto Princesa underground river, Philippines

The Puerto Princesa Underground River (PPUR), part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park, experienced significant economic losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The study estimates that the PPUR lost approximately Php 172,997,905.00 in revenue from 2020 to 2021, attributed to the absence of 281,441 international and 335,687 domestic tourists. Using Seasonal Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (SARIMA) models, researchers projected that without the pandemic, the PPUR could have seen a revenue increase of roughly Php 96.7 million from 2022 to 2024, with an expected rise in international tourist arrivals and a decrease in domestic ones. The findings underscore the importance of stakeholder collaboration for sustainable management during economic crises, highlighting the fragility of tourism-dependent sites like PPUR.

Quitoy, J. E., Garcia, D. A., Subade, R., & Eluraga, L. M. (2024). Estimating tourism losses due to COVID-19 Pandemic: The case of Puerto Princesa underground river, Philippines. Davao Research Journal, 15(No.2). https://doi.org/10.59120/drj.v15ino.2.189