PH tourist arrivals breach 500,000 mark in January; Koreans still top visitors
Tourist arrivals reached 542,258 in January, an increase of 13.17 percent compared to the same month last year, the Department of Tourism (DOT) said.
The figure is considered a “historical first” as international visitors breached the 500 thousand mark.
“At the rate that the industry is growing, tourism has proven that it is an important pillar in the country’s economic development,” DOT Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr. said in a statement.
On the other hand, visitor receipts, which are based on “tourism activities engaged in by the visitors,” reached P21.94 billion.
“This rapid growth is allowing creation of decent jobs and livelihood for many Filipinos. For 2015, tourism employment was estimated at 4.99 million with a share of 12.7 percent to national employment, already representing 4.8 percent growth from 2014,” Jimenez added.
The Secretary said the growth in tourism is a “successful means to spread the growth to various sectors, from the protection of the environment to the emergence of local businesses, the development of infrastructure, and the preservation of our cultural heritage.”
READ: DOT upbeat about reaching 6M tourists in 2016
A breakdown of the figures showed that Koreans remained top visitors in the country. Its 147,165 tourists contributed to 27.14 percent of the total volume. Coming in second were visitors from the United States at 84,506 (with a share of 15.58 percent). This was followed by China with 48,708 visitors (8.98 percent), Japan with 41,691 (7.69 percent) and Australia with 25,274 (4.66 percent).
China overtook Japan for the third place, as its visitors to the Philippines increased by 130.15 percent from January last year.
Jimenez attributed the growth to better services, infrastructure and market access.
“The convergence projects with public and private sectors have significantly improved market access and connectivity, human resource development, product development, environmental protection and, safety and security,” he said. CDG
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