[ journal.com.ph ] March 23, 2008 Sunday
By: Efren Montano
DESPITE shortages of room accommodations, tourist stakeholders are bullish on attaining 3.5 million tourist arrivals by end this year as foreign and domestic visitors peaked with the Lent and the summer season.
Tourism secretary Joseph Ace Durano said the foreign visitors in February this alone jumped to 276,809 visitors.
About 500,000 local tourists flocked to various tourism sites during the Holy Week including Banaue, Baguio, Cebu and the world famous Boracay islands, among others.
Local officials of Baguio City claimed about 300,000 tourists trekked to the Philippines’ summer capital during the Holy Week, who are expected to stay until early Easter Sunday.
Throngs of vacationists crowded the Burnham Park, SM Mall and other sites like the Mines View Park, Philippine Military Academy and the Lourdes Grotto. Others find time to proceed to the La Trinidad in Benguet for the strawberry and vegetable farms, which President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo visited yesterday.
The Korean market remains the top foreign market with 56,832 visitors in February this year, the DOT said. This is followed by the Americans and Japanese.
Other top visitors include Chinese, Hong Kong nationals, Australians, Singaporeans, Canadians, and the British.
Denmark with 1,478 arrivals recorded growth of 1.4 percent.
Two cruise ships arrived in February with one ship disembarking in Manila South Harbor with total of 1,628 visitors while the remaining cruise disembarked in Cebu with 302 visitors.
The DOT also showed about 46,481 foreigners visited the Banaue Rice Terraces, of which 1,077 were Germans.
Other visitors include Americans, Israelites, Canadians, British and Japanese, who show interest to witness the Imbayah Ifugao cultural celebration .
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