How Many Tourists Visit Cebu and Bohol

Some 3.3 million foreign and domestic tourists visited Central Visayas in 2013, despite the 7.2-magnitude earthquake that struck Bohol and Cebu provinces on 15th October and typhoon Yolanda (international code name Haiyan) that devastated Eastern Visayas on 8th November 2013.

The figure represents a 12.45-percent increase from the 2.9 million visitors recorded in 2012 and surpassed the original target of 3.03 million tourists for 2013.

Department of Tourism Regional Director Rowena Montecillo said domestic tourism fuelled the growth in arrivals, specifically in the fourth quarter, when the temblor and super typhoon hit the region.

Total domestic-tourist arrivals in Central Visayas grew by 13.1 percent to 1,980,155 in 2013 from 1,750,385 the year before, while foreign-tourist arrivals increased by 12.3 percent to 1,304,233 last year from the 2012 figure.

Cebu had the biggest number of tourist arrivals with 2,462,794, followed by Bohol (338,763), Negros Oriental province (457,618) and Siquijor (33,431).

Arrivals from South Korea, still the region’s top tourist market, grew by 17.13 percent from 449,856 in 2012 to 526,920 last year, while arrivals from the United States grew by 10.46 percent to 115,093 last year from the 2012 figure.

Arrivals from China slightly grew by 0.96 percent to 54,421, while arrivals from Australia rose by 19.69 percent to 40,692.  Arrivals from Taiwan grew by 27.57 percent to 25,734, while arrivals from Canada grew by 55.63 percent from 16,535 in 2012 to 25,734 in 2013.

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