If you run a hotel, resort, inn, homestay, function hall or tourist attraction in Bislig City, you now have a monthly reporting deadline with the City Tourism Office, and missing it can lead to fines and trouble renewing your business permit.

The rule comes from City Ordinance No. 2026-28, the "Bislig City Tourism Statistics and Tourist Arrival Reporting Ordinance of 2026." The Sangguniang Panlungsod enacted it on September 1, 2026, during its 59th regular session, and Mayor Florencio C. Garay approved it on September 15, 2026. The full text is posted on the city government's website.

Who is covered

The ordinance applies to all "primary tourism enterprises" operating in the city. It lists hotels, resorts, inns, pension houses, hostels, homestays, tourist inns, apartelles and other accommodation establishments. It also covers MICE facilities (venues for meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions), function halls, and private and barangay-owned sites, plus any other enterprise the City Tourism Office decides to include.

What you have to submit

Every covered business must file a Monthly Tourist Arrival Report on or before the 5th day of the following month, covering all arrivals the month before. If you had no guests or visitors at all, you still have to file a "Zero Tourist Arrival Report." The owner, operator or manager is held responsible.

What goes in the report depends on the type of business:

  • Accommodation establishments report available rooms, guests checked in, guests staying overnight, rooms occupied, and guests by sex and by place of residence (domestic or foreign).
  • Tourist attractions report total same-day visitors, broken down by residence and by sex.
  • MICE venues report each event's name, duration, classification (local, regional, national or international), attendees (local and foreign), whether it had an exhibition, the number of exhibitors and exhibition visitors, and the organizer.

The City Tourism Office will issue the forms and may add fields in line with Department of Tourism standards.

Daily reports on long weekends

Attractions and accommodation establishments must also file a Daily Tourist Arrival Report for every day of a declared long weekend, holiday period, or other peak season the City Tourism Office identifies. Each daily report is due the same day, no later than 6:00 PM.

Penalties and your business permit

Failing to file on time carries escalating penalties:

  • First offense: written warning
  • Second offense: P1,000 fine
  • Third offense: P3,000 fine
  • Fourth and later offenses: P5,000 per offense, plus a Notice of Non-Compliance

Each month of non-submission counts as a separate violation. More importantly for most owners, a Certification of Compliance from the City Tourism Office is now one of the documentary requirements for renewing a business permit. The tourism office will coordinate with the Business Permits and Licensing Office to check compliance, and repeated failures may be considered when permits are processed.

What about guest privacy

The ordinance says all data must be handled under the Data Privacy Act of 2012 (RA 10173). Reports should contain only what is needed for statistics and planning, and personally identifiable information about individual guests is not required unless the law calls for it.

Why the city wants the numbers

The ordinance says accurate tourism figures are needed for planning, infrastructure, investment promotion, and disaster risk reduction. Bislig draws visitors to places like Tinuy-an Falls, and the city has said it wants a reliable count of how many come and where they stay.

The ordinance takes effect 15 days after it is posted in three conspicuous public places and on the city website. Owners who are unsure whether they are covered, or who need the reporting forms, should contact the City Tourism Office.

In the same session on September 1, the council also passed Ordinance No. 2026-27, which grants a 50% discount on the occupation permit fee for qualified participants of the city's tour guiding training seminar, on their first permit.

Source: City of Bislig, Sangguniang Panlungsod Ordinance No. 2026-28 (enacted September 1, 2026; approved September 15, 2026) and the city's 2026 ordinance listing, both published on bislig.gov.ph.