PHL tourist arrivals up 17% to record high in Jan. – DOT
Visitor arrivals reached a record-breaking high of 411,064 last January, up 17.5 percent from 349,713 a year earlier, the Department of Tourism (DOT) said Thursday.
That was the same month that the government launched its popular "More fun in the Philippines" tourism slogan, which quickly became viral and a meme with countless online participants.
“We are happy to set a new all-time high for the industry, as we have now reached and surpassed the 400,000-visitor arrival mark for the first time in any single month,” the department said in a statement, citing Tourism Secretary Ramon R. Jimenez Jr.
It may also signal that the country has finally overcome the tourism setback caused by the massacre of eight Hong Kong tourists in August 2010, resulting in an immediate drop in tourism arrivals. The government has also had to cope with the effects of kidnappings of foreigners, including two bird scientists in Tawi-Tawi in late January.
The US' State Department issued a stern warning to its citizens in Juanuary about the dangers of travelling in the Philippines.
Jimenez is said to be a marketing genius, creating a spin that highlights the joyful spirit of Filipinos and papers over the country's myriad problems, from a high crime rate to unmaintained public toilets to an international airport repeatedly called one of the world's worst.
“We expect that these numbers will continue to steadily increase with the introduction of our new brand campaign this year and the convergence initiatives and efforts that the DOT has been undertaking with other government agencies and the private sector,” Jimenez added.
Koreans accounted for the biggest number of visitors at 102,166, or 24.9 percent of the total. “This achieves another feat for PHL tourism, as this also marks the first time that a market achieved more than 100,000 in any single month,” the department said.
Visitors from the United States were the second largest at 63,160 or 15.4 percent of the inbound traffic.
The Chinese market bested the Japanese market as the third biggest volume of 42,868 arrivals — a triple-digit growth of 173.8 percent from 15,656. The heavy influx of Chinese tourists was attributed the Chinese New Year in the third week of January.
The Japanese and the Taiwanese ranked as fourth and fifth top visitors, with 32,089 and 21,995 arrivals, respectively. The Japanese arrivals were 1.6 percent higher year-on-year and accounted for 7.8 percent of the total arrivals.
Tourists from Taiwan was 60.7 percent more in volume terms, capturing 5.4 percent of the total arrivals.
Overseas Filipinos — or Filipinos permanently residing abroad —accounted for 15,531 arrivals, or 3.8 percent of the total volume.
“We are excited to meet our year-end target of 4.6 million arrivals with the full roll-out of the campaign “It’s More Fun in the Philippines,” Jimenez said.
“Policy reforms and convergence projects with other government agencies will seek to address impediments to tourism growth, particularly accessibility, connectivity and entry procedures,” the secretary noted.
“More importantly, everybody’s support is critical in creating the fun and competitive image that we are selling to the world,” he added. — VS/HS, GMA News
That was the same month that the government launched its popular "More fun in the Philippines" tourism slogan, which quickly became viral and a meme with countless online participants.
“We are happy to set a new all-time high for the industry, as we have now reached and surpassed the 400,000-visitor arrival mark for the first time in any single month,” the department said in a statement, citing Tourism Secretary Ramon R. Jimenez Jr.
It may also signal that the country has finally overcome the tourism setback caused by the massacre of eight Hong Kong tourists in August 2010, resulting in an immediate drop in tourism arrivals. The government has also had to cope with the effects of kidnappings of foreigners, including two bird scientists in Tawi-Tawi in late January.
The US' State Department issued a stern warning to its citizens in Juanuary about the dangers of travelling in the Philippines.
Jimenez is said to be a marketing genius, creating a spin that highlights the joyful spirit of Filipinos and papers over the country's myriad problems, from a high crime rate to unmaintained public toilets to an international airport repeatedly called one of the world's worst.
“We expect that these numbers will continue to steadily increase with the introduction of our new brand campaign this year and the convergence initiatives and efforts that the DOT has been undertaking with other government agencies and the private sector,” Jimenez added.
Koreans accounted for the biggest number of visitors at 102,166, or 24.9 percent of the total. “This achieves another feat for PHL tourism, as this also marks the first time that a market achieved more than 100,000 in any single month,” the department said.
Visitors from the United States were the second largest at 63,160 or 15.4 percent of the inbound traffic.
The Chinese market bested the Japanese market as the third biggest volume of 42,868 arrivals — a triple-digit growth of 173.8 percent from 15,656. The heavy influx of Chinese tourists was attributed the Chinese New Year in the third week of January.
The Japanese and the Taiwanese ranked as fourth and fifth top visitors, with 32,089 and 21,995 arrivals, respectively. The Japanese arrivals were 1.6 percent higher year-on-year and accounted for 7.8 percent of the total arrivals.
Tourists from Taiwan was 60.7 percent more in volume terms, capturing 5.4 percent of the total arrivals.
Overseas Filipinos — or Filipinos permanently residing abroad —accounted for 15,531 arrivals, or 3.8 percent of the total volume.
“We are excited to meet our year-end target of 4.6 million arrivals with the full roll-out of the campaign “It’s More Fun in the Philippines,” Jimenez said.
“Policy reforms and convergence projects with other government agencies will seek to address impediments to tourism growth, particularly accessibility, connectivity and entry procedures,” the secretary noted.
“More importantly, everybody’s support is critical in creating the fun and competitive image that we are selling to the world,” he added. — VS/HS, GMA News
No comments:
Post a Comment