|
THE
Arroyo administration’s efforts at promoting the
Philippines as a tourism destination are paying off,
with tourists spending a total of some $1 billion in the
country during the first quarter of 2008.
This was
reported by the Department of Tourism (DOT), which
enthused that “these positive results have laid down the
groundwork for another promising year for the industry.”
These
developments “further benefit a greater part of the
nation as more quality jobs are generated and more
wealth enters our country,” added Tourism Secretary Ace
Durano, who is now also chief of the Philippine Tourism
Authority.
The DOT,
which sourced its data from arrival and departure cards
and shipping manifests, counted 858,244 “arrivals” from
January to March this year, and this first-quarter group
of tourists spent a total of $1.022 billion.
The
department said the bulk of the amount was spent by
Koreans.
“The
Scandinavian region, as well as Germany, Russia, Canada,
and Hong Kong registered double-digit gains as shown by
their increasing expenditure and length of stay over the
previous years,” the DOT further revealed in its latest
newsletter.
Koreans
also topped the arrivals in terms of number during the
first quarter, with 175,147 and accounting for 20.4
percent of total arrivals.
The next
biggest group came from the United States, with the
166,128 tourists making up 19.4 percent; followed by
tourists from Japan at 99,453 (11.6 percent).
Fourth
to sixth were
China
with 48,619 (5.7 percent) followed by
Taiwan
with 31,441 (3.7 percent) and Hong Kong, 31,344 (3.7
percent). If lumped together, the Chinese group totals
111,404 (13.1 percent), more than the Japanese tourists.
Australians (30,936 or 3.6 percent), Canadians (29,525
or 3.4 percent) and UK nationals (23,863 or 2.8 percent)
comprised the next biggest arrivals with a total of
84,324 (9.8 percent).
In tenth
place were the Singaporeans at 23,761 (2.8 percent).
To
further increase the “tourist spend,” the DOT will
launch a Shopping Festival in September, and a Second
Home Destination Program in October. |
