By Fatima Cielo B Cancel/Manila Times
International tourists who arrived in the country for the first two months of the year increased compared to the number of tourist arrivals during the same period in 2012 and also posed a record double digit growth in the country’s tourism, the Department of Tourism (DOT) said yesterday.
DOT recorded a 10.5% growth in the country’s tourism with the 854,187 tourist arrivals in the country for the first two months of the year. This number is higher than the 772,989 arrivals recorded at the same period last year.
DOT expects only 400,000 tourists in January and but the total number of tourists who visited the country in the first month of the year reached 436, 079 and 418, 108 in February.
The department added that for three consecutive months since December 2012, the tourist arrivals exceeded their set quota per month. DOT said that the uptrend in the country’s tourism is expected to last until the end of summer season.
Visitor arrivals for February 2013 soared 15.52% marking the first time that this month achieved more than 400,000 visitors. The Chinese New Year stimulated the growth during the month, with Hong Kong posting a 93.80% growth rate, China registering 69.87%, Macau at 44.05%, and Taiwan at 20.67%. Countries from the Asean region likewise registered double-digit gains in February, according to DOT.
DOT said that Korean tourists remain the highest visitors to the country with 241,116 arrivals, growing by 25.6%. The second in the list were American tourists with 120,868 tourist arrivals, 14. 2% of the visitor count. Japanese ranked third with 73,621 followed by the Chinese with 69,610; Taiwan with 37,921; Australians with 34,095; Singaporeans with 25,800; Canadians with 25,338; Hong Kong Chinese with 23,097; Malaysians with 18,947; British with 18,563; and Germans with 13,774.
“Our tourism numbers are now reaching unprecedented heights. We have a target of 5.5mn this year and 10mn by 2016. Our efforts are in full swing to raise greater demand, facilitate entry and access to the different destinations, and for our suppliers and host communities to come together and create fun-filled experiences. We need to seize this momentum of rising global attention to reach more markets and bring about conversion,” Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr said.
“At the same time, front-loading infrastructure projects should address connectivity and multi-modal access. Market development will also work to punch deeper into the segments of traditional markets while creating interest in high-potential emerging markets,” the tourism chief added.
With the recent lifting of the Significant Safety Concerns (SSCs) by the UN - International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), the Philippines can look forward to regaining Category I status from the US Federal Aviation Administration and the subsequent lifting of the European Union (EU) ban. The rationalisation of the Common Carriers Tax (RA 10376), which was signed into law by President Benigno Aquino earlier this month, is also seen to aid in improving and enhancing the country’s competitiveness in the international travel arena.
“With these two major milestones, we shall see greater traffic to and from more destinations, stimulating more business for both foreign and local carriers. With the upward trend in visitor arrivals and recent surge in real estate development, airline companies will begin to see the viability to fill our capacities and make the Philippines a part of their primary route offering. It will be an interesting four years in the run up to our 2016 goal,” Secretary Jimenez added.