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Philippines
eyes three million foreign tourists in 2006
May 2006
The Philippines is on target of drawing three million
foreign tourists in 2006, as international arrivals
posted double-digit growth in the first quarter of the
year.
Citing preliminary data, Tourism Secretary Joseph Ace
Durano said that foreign visitor arrivals grew by 13
percent year-on-year to 762,912 in the first quarter
of 2006 from 643,202 arrivals a year earlier.
Largest sources of foreign tourists in the first quarter
of the year were the United States, with 149,511 arrivals;
South Korea, 144,768; Japan, 114,133; china, 32,204;
and Taiwan, 30, 939.
“This momentum continued during the second quarter,
as the growth rate in arrivals reached 14 percent in
the latest monitored period of April 1 to 23,”
he said.
Such growth figure in the January-to-April period is
in line with the tourism department’s growth target
of 14 percent this year.
Durano is optimistic that total visitor arrivals would
top three million in 2006, up by 400,000 from 2.6 million
in 2005.
Last year, arrivals climbed 14.5 percent to historic-high
2.623 million from the previous record of 2.291 million
in 2004.
The country’s tourism industry continues to grow
as a result of the DOT's market-driven campaigns, Durano
said, even as he committed to further intensify the
department's marketing efforts abroad.
He noted that the Philippines bagged five international
recognition awards in the first quarter of the year
in its participation in various travel and tourism expos
in Asia specifically in Korea, Japan and China.
These awards included the Best Booth Award at the International
Travel Fair in Guangzhou, reputed to be the oldest international
travel exhibition in China; the Best Tourism Publicity
Award and the Best Booth Design Award in the 4th Tour
Expo Daego 2006, one of the most attended events in
Korea with annual visitors of 70,000; and two other
prestigious awards - the Reader’s Choice for the
3rd World’s Best Dive Site and the 5th Prize as
the Reader’s Choice for the World’s Best Resort
Area in the recent Marine Diving Fair in Tokyo, Japan.
Because of improving tourist arrivals, President Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo said some 400,000 new jobs are to be
created in the tourism sector in 2006.
This was based on assumption that for every foreign
tourist visiting the country, one job is being created
for a Filipino.
Domestic tourism also peaked during the summer season
before typhoon Caloy hit Luzon and Visayas over the
weekend.
Hotels in Cebu, Davao, Boracay, Palawan and Bohol have
reported full occupancy rates in April, while the largest
deluxe hotels in Metro Manila registered occupancy rates
above 90 percent.
Travel agencies complained of difficulty of finding
accommodation for their corporate clients, as most rooms
in upscale hotels and resorts in Cebu and Davao have
already been reserved for conventions and seminars up
to the month of July.
Buses plying the Manila-Baguio route were dispatched
every five minutes to serve thousands of local tourists
trying to catch a ride to the mountain resort city in
the week ahead of the Labor Day.
Typhoon Caloy spared Baguio City, allowing foreign and
local tourists to enjoy the cool weather of the city
in the third week of May. Roderick T. dela Cruz
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