By Louise Maureen Simeon (The Philippine
Star) | Updated November 11, 2015 - 12:00am
Tourists wait in line at the airport.
MANILA, Philippines - Tourist arrivals
in the first nine months of the year went up 11 percent on the back of various
international events held in the country, the Department of Tourism (DOT) said.
International tourists for the January
to September period rose to 3,983,627 from the 3,596,523 arrivals in the same
period last year.
The month of September showed the
highest year-to-date growth rate, with inbound visitors increasing to 393,589,
up 19.64 percent from 328,981 visitors a year ago. Consistent double-digit
gains in arrivals have been recorded over the past three months, the DOT noted.
“Driving the growth in the past months
are the various international events held in the country, including the APEC
meetings, the continued recognition of Philippine destinations by many travel
magazines and online companies, and the aggressive reach of our ‘It’s More Fun in
the Philippines’ campaign,” DOT Assistant Secretary Rolando Canizal said in a
text message.
The DOT is close to reaching its 2015
target of five million arrivals as key markets posted substantial growth and
markets which were down last year have recovered.
“We are optimistic Philippine tourism
will breach the five-million mark in arrivals this year as we anticipate a new
era of tourism growth in the coming years,” Canizal added.
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Total revenue from inbound visitors for
January to September grew seven percent to P168.75 billion. Inbound receipts
for September alone amounted to P16.56 billion, 24.24 percent higher than the
previous year’s earning of P13.33 billion.
Asia contributed the biggest arrivals in
September with 264,143 visitors or 67.11 percent of total.
The Americas accounted for 13.88 percent
of the market with 54,632 while Europe comprised 7.7 percent contributing
30,320 arrivals. Australia and the Pacific shared 5.58 percent and overseas
Filipinos registered 2.65 percent.
Korea remained the top contributor of
international tourists for January to September with 997,135 arrivals or a
25.03 percent share of total inbound traffic.
The United States supplied the second
biggest inbound arrival with 577,508 visitors while the Japanese market also
grew and ranked third with a total of 380,815 visitors. Meanwhile, China
provided 373,795 arrivals and Australia recorded 170,706 visitors.
Other top visitors include Singapore
with 136,039 arrivals; Taiwan with 135,194 arrivals; Malaysia with 117,184
arrivals; United Kingdom with 112,360 arrivals and Canada with 109,852
arrivals.
Moreover, Korea provided P4.73 billion
in receipts, followed by the United States with visitor receipts at P2.82
billion. Japan placed third with P1.19 billion while Australia and China
contributed P1.08 billion and P1.05 billion, respectively.
On the other hand, spending patterns for
September showed average daily expenditure was estimated at P5,438.47 while
average length of stay registered is at nine nights.
