The city of Legazpi, under the leadership of Mayor Noel Rosal, was declared by the Department of Tourism as the top 14 major tourist destination of the Philippines for the first half of 2009. The city registered 67,264 visitors from January to June 2009 up by 10.9% from the same period in 2008 making Legazpi the 14th most visited destination in the country this year. With more tourism development projects in the pipeline and a more aggressive tourism campaign, Legazpi is expected to take a bigger share of the booming tourism industry.