page_title: Legazpi, Albay
section_title: Tourism
hierarchical_section_title: Legazpi, Albay / Economy / Tourism
caption_attribution_description: English: ATV adventure in Legazpi
context_page_description: Legazpi, officially the City of Legazpi, is a 1st class component city and capital of the province of Albay, Philippines. According to the 2015 census, it has a population of 196,639. Legazpi is the regional center and largest city of the Bicol Region, in terms of population. It is the region's center of tourism, education, health services, commerce and transportation in the Bicol Region.
  The city is composed of two districts: Legazpi Port and Old Albay District. Mayon Volcano, one of the Philippines' most popular icons and tourist destinations, is partly within the city's borders.
  In 2018, Legazpi was ranked first in overall competitiveness among component cities by the National Competitiveness Council. The city also ranked first in infrastructure and second in economic dynamism. In the same year, Legazpi was also named "most business-friendly city" in the component city category by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
context_section_description: Located on the southern foothills of the scenic Mount Mayon, the city has a flourishing tourism industry. The province of Albay, whose center of trade and commerce is in the city, recorded a 66 percent growth rate in tourist arrivals for 2013. In the same year, the city had a total of 263,568 foreign tourist arrivals, the most in the region. In 2014, the city welcomed 666,210 tourists, an increase of 15 percent from the previous year. including Chinese tourists who arrived at the city via direct chartered flights from Xiamen, China. In 2015, Legazpi aims to reach its target of 900,000 tourist arrivals. Legazpi increased its tourist arrivals by 13.97% in 2017.
  Legazpi has the tourism tagline the "City of Fun and Adventure", with a number of adventure tourism activities within the city including riding an ATV around Mt. Mayon, zip-lining, skydiving, scuba diving, and water sports. In an ATV adventure to Mt. Mayon, tourists drive an all-terrain vehicle over rough trails, including a dry riverbed, leading to the volcano's lower slopes where hardened lava rock from previous eruptions are deposited. The activity was featured in reality shows The Amazing Race Asia 4 in 2010 and The Amazing Race Philippines 1 in 2012. American actor Zac Efron visited Legazpi in October 2012 and drove an ATV around Mayon.
  Hiking and climbing Mt. Mayon is allowed during peaceful spells but was prohibited following a phreatic explosion with casualties in May 2013. As part of its efforts to promote sports and adventure tourism, the city hosts annual sporting events such as Mt. Mayon Triathlon, Mayon 360 Ultramarathon and XTERRA Triathlon. The city also serves as a jump-off point to other adventure activities nearby including river rafting and waterfalls exploration in Malinao, spelunking in Camalig, island hopping in Bacacay, skimboarding in Santo Domingo, and whale shark interaction in Donsol, Sorsogon.
  The city is home to 56 hotels and 110 bars and restaurants. As of 2014, Legazpi had a total of 1,547 hotel rooms. Among the notable hotels in the city is The Oriental Legazpi. Located in the hills of Taysan, it offers a panoramic view of the city, the Albay Gulf and Mt. Mayon. It served as the venue of the joint conference meetings of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) from May 14 to 20, 2014 as well as the PATA New Tourism Frontiers Forum 2015.
  Legazpi is also aiming to be one of the top five convention destinations in Luzon by 2020. The city has two public indoor arenas that can also serve as convention centers: Ibalong Centrum for Recreation (capacity: 7,000 persons) and Albay Astrodome (capacity: 5,000 persons) The Albay Astrodome was used as the venue for the Big Night of Pinoy Big Brother: 737 on November 7–8, 2015. The city government is also planning to build the Legazpi City Convention Center. There are also several privately owned and hotel-based convention facilities such as the Casablanca Convention Hall (capacity: 1,000 persons), The Oriental Grand Ballroom (capacity: 750 persons), and Top of St. Ellis (capacity: 300 persons). In 2015, Legazpi hosted 51 national and international conventions. Legazpi was a port of call for German cruise ship Hapag-Lloyd Cruises' MS Bremen in October 2018.
caption: ATV ride to Mayon, one of the adventure tourism activities in Legazpi
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