Category: News

Airport authorities have made the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 4 an all-domestic terminal, completing on the transfer of international and jetliner flights to the bigger terminal Terminal 3.

Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) General Manager Jose Angel Honrado said the reactivation of the secondary runway 13/31 facilitated the relocation of Air Asia Zest international flights as well as 24 Cebu Pacific Air-Tiger (CEB-Go) Airways flights to NAIA Terminal 3.

Tourism industry in the Philippines has entered a Renaissance period in the past four years, in the words of Tourism Secretary Ace Durano. But the question is, has this period of growth in tourist arrivals, hotel investments and tourism receipts abruptly come to an end amid the global economic downturn?

International movement of tourists across countries slowed in the second half of 2008, as the global financial markets deteriorated, according to the World Tourism Organization, an agency under the United Nations.

"Tourism demand slowed significantly through the year under the influence of an extremely volatile world economy (financial crisis, commodity and oil price rises, sharp exchange rate fluctuations), undermining both consumer and business confidence and resulting in the current global economic recession," the World Tourism Organization says.

International visitor arrivals in the Philippines grew 13 percent to 1.7 million in the first half of 2010 from 1.5 million a year ago.  The Department of Tourism (DOT) said Korean and American tourists accounted for a combined 40 percent of the six-month volume.  The figure includes 116,109 Filipinos permanently staying overseas, but excludes overseas Filipino workers returning home.  Tourist arrivals hit 308,326 in June, compared to just 264,455 a year ago.
Tourists from South Korea accounted for 333,617 arrivals, representing a sharp 32 percent increase from a year ago.  Korea accounted for 19.5 percent of the tourist market, followed by the United States with 18.5 percent.  Visitors from the US rose slightly to 317,181 from 311,881 a year earlier.  Japan, China and Hong Kong followed with 171,655, 90,223 and 71,867 visitors, respectively, and market shares of 10 percent, 5.3 percent and 4.2 percent.  

The Department of Tourism (DOT) has launched a new brand campaign in a bid to attract more foreign visitors to the Philippines.  The new campaign with the line “It’s more fun in the Philippines” focuses on the country’s core strength, which is its people.  “Our strategy is simple: while other countries invite you to observe, Filipinos can promise a more heartfelt and interesting experience. Wherever you go, whatever you do in the country, it’s the Filipinos that will complete your vacation and will make your holiday unforgettable,” said Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr.

The US Department of Transportation has granted the application of Cebu Pacific to fly to the United States, after the restoration of the Philippines’ Category 1 air safety status.   Cebu Pacific was previously restricted from flying... Read More | Share it now!

Japan has started to relax its visa requirements for Filipinos.   The changes to visa requirements, which will also apply to Indonesia and Vietnam, were announced at a meeting for the promotion of Japan as a tourism-oriented... Read More | Share it now!

The Asian Institute of Management (AIM) has launched the AIM-Dr. Andrew L. Tan Center for Tourism which aims to promote sustainable tourism development in the country.

The center aims to address current issues on the effectiveness of MICE (Meetings,Incentives, Conferences and Events), the use of technology to enhance tourism promotions, develop better airline policies, and longer-term concerns, including the future of community-based tourism and the impact of climate change on tourism development, said Lim.