MANILA (Mindanao Examiner / May 30, 2013) – The Philippines remains a favorite destination for Korean holidaymakers, topping the number of tourists in the country, the Department of Tourism said on Thursday.
It said for the first four months of the year, Korea contributed the largest arrivals with 406,595 visitors, keeping its undisputed pole position with the biggest market share.
And the United States was the second biggest source market with 246,011 visitors while Japan is third with 148,950 tourist arrivals.
China also ranked fourth as the biggest market with 132,307 visitors and Australia is fifth with 72,015 arrivals.
Arrival of Taiwanese tourists has declined this year, but still 68,654 visitors were recorded by the Department of Tourism and putting it on the 6th spot.
It said that for the first four months represent 30% of the target arrivals for 2013, with the month of January yielding the largest volume with 436,079 visitors and February generating the highest growth of 15.52%.
Philippine tourism sustains its robust performance as foreign visitor arrivals for the first four months reached 1,649,458 million or a 10.12% increase from the same period in 2012.
Other tourist arrivals were Singapore with 55,096; Canada with 50,352; Hong Kong with 45,734; United Kingdom with 43,055; Malaysia with 35,069; and Germany with 28,799.
“This growth is an affirmation of our various marketing and destination development activities, strengthened by partnerships with the various stakeholders. While the upsurge may primarily be attributed to the summer season, it is also a clear indication that the nation has galvanized its reputation as an attractive destination,” Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez, Jr. said in a statement sent to the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner.
He added: “We have been seeing a sustainable increase in arrivals since last year. This building enthusiasm for the Philippines, aided by our government’s good governance agenda, gives us the confidence to achieve our target of 10 million tourist arrivals by 2016. Central to this, we are reaching out to industry, government, and civil society to continue investing in sustainable projects and partnerships to secure our continued growth.”
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