PHL tourist arrivals hit 3.62M as of Aug. 7
THE Department of Tourism (DoT) said visitor arrivals totaled 3.62 million as of Aug. 7, indicating that the department is behind the pace on its target of 7.7 million international visitors this year.
The DoT described the 7.7 million goal as a “moving target,” noting the difficulties encountered by the Philippines in attracting visitors from China.
“We recognize the challenges that persist, especially from the arrivals from the Chinese market, so it is a moving target, I would say, taking into account the realities that we face,” Tourism Secretary Christina G. Frasco said in a statement.
“Even so, we are working as hard as we can to make sure that, not only the (target) arrivals but, more important, the visitor receipts target is achieved,” she said.
The DoT said inbound visitors as of Aug. 7 consisted of 92.1% foreigners, and 7.9% overseas Filipinos.
The Aug. 7 total was 47% of the target set for the year.
South Korea was still the top source market for visitors, accounting for 960,809 or 26.3% of the total, followed by the US with 590,81 or 16.2%, and China 223,954 or 6.2%.
Rounding out the top five were Japan, which accounted for 221,430 or 6.1%, of the visitors, and Australia, with 152,835 or 4.2%.
The other top source markets are Taiwan, Canada, the UK, Singapore, and Malaysia.
In the first seven months, the Philippines booked P323.68 billion in visitor receipts, up 13.2% a year earlier.
“We continue our very heavy promotions in terms of our top source markets so that we will be able to increase tourist arrivals from these areas, and as I have mentioned, these include South Korea, the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, and including Europe,” Ms. Frasco added. — Justine Irish D. Tabile
