30/01/2018
Exceeding expectations and shrugging off political noise on the war on drugs and terrorism in Mindanao, tourist arrivals in the Philippines reached a record 6.8 million last year, exceeding the government’s target of 6.5 million, according to the Department of Tourism (DOT).
Tourism Secretary Wanda Corazon T. Teo broke the news at the BusinessMirror Coffee Club forum on Thursday, and disclosed visitor arrivals in the country almost reached 7 million, which is her personal target for 2017. She said preliminary figures indicate around 6.8 million foreigners went to the country last year, exceeding the DOT’s target of attracting 6.5 million tourists.
“[It was] almost 7 million. Our target was 7 million, but we have to reduce it to [6.5 million],” Teo said.
Tourist arrivals last year is 15 percent higher than that of 2016, when the country missed its target of pulling 6 million tourists here. This increase in tourist arrivals developed even as Manila suffered from political noise due to international criticisms on the war on drugs and the threat of Islamist extremism in Marawi City, Lanao del Sur, which resulted in a five-month battle in the Islamic town.
Teo added the tourism industry was able to overcome these challenges due to the major events that had the ball rolling for the country, most especially Manila’s hosting of the Miss Universe last January and the Asean summit last April and November. This was on top of the Madrid Fusión Manila last April, World Street Food Congress last May and the United Nations World Tourism Organization International Conference on Tourism Statistics last June.
With the momentum the country gained from last year, Teo said the DOT is inclined to attract 8 million tourists this year. She said aside from the usual tourists from South Korea, the United States and China, the country is also beginning to pique the interest of the Russians—mainly due to active relations between Moscow and Manila under President Duterte—and Canadians.
The tourism chief also said she expects more tourist arrivals from China under Manila’s warmer ties with Beijing. China committed to send 1 million Chinese tourists to the country in response to the President’s efforts to establish stronger relations with the superpower.
From January to August of last year, the country earned as much as $3.3 billion, or P166.3 billion, Teo said. At this pace, even without the revenues yet for September to December, she said tourism will continue to be the third-largest contributor to the country’s GDP.
She also said tourists are now staying longer in the country, though they still spend $133, or around P6,700, a day, which is the average daily expenditure of a foreigner here. “They use to stay three to four days [in the country], now it is six to seven days, but they still spend the usual $133 to $134,” Teo added.
The country’s tourist arrivals last year was significantly higher than that of in 2016, when Manila experienced a slowdown in Chinese arrivals. This slowdown was mainly attributed to the arbitration ruling by The Hague that favored Manila’s claim over Beijing’s in the South China Sea.
Due to the maritime dispute, the Chinese government discouraged its citizens from traveling to the country. This resulted in millions of pesos in lost revenues reported by hotels and resorts in Cebu, Bohol and Boracay, on top of the suspension of chartered flights between certain points in China and resort areas in the country through Philippine carriers.
Arrivals from South Korea hit 1.48 million tourists in 2016, accounting for 24.75 percent of total visitor arrivals for that year. The US and China placed second and third as top markets, registering 869,463 and 675,663 tourist arrivals, respectively.
NewsTop News2017 banner year for PHL tourism By Elijah Felice Rosales - January 11, 2018 In Photo: Tourism Secretary Wanda Corazon T. Teo (fourth from left) broke the news at the BusinessMirror Coffee Club forum that the country recorded 6.8 million tourist arrivals in 2017. Attending the forum are....
