By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo / Special to the BusinessMirror
THE Philippines’s neighbors in Asia accounted for the largest number of visitor arrivals in the country in the first half of the year.
Data released by the Department of Tourism (DOT) showed visitor arrivals growing by 13.7 percent to some 2.98 million from January to June 2016. Of the total, visitors from Asia accounted for 59.22 percent at 1.76 million, among them from East Asia at 1.46 million, with the rest from the Association of Southeast Nations, 243,035 arrivals; and South Asia, 54,777.
North and South America contributed a total of 551,836 arrivals, representing an 18.53-percent share to the total, while visitors from Europe accounted for 10.84 percent equivalent to 322,930 arrivals. Australasia/Pacific contributed 160,118 arrivals, or 5.38 percent of total.
The DOT is trying to attract some 5.9 million foreign-visitor arrivals this year. Assistant Secretary for Tourism Development Planning Rolando Cañizal said in a text message to the BusinessMirror that “we are on track to reach 6 million visitor arrivals by year-end.”
From January to June 2016, South Korea again topped the list of source markets for visitors in the Philippines, with 686,118 visitors, accounting for some 23 percent of total arrivals. The United States remained the second-biggest source of visitors, with 454,170 visitor arrivals (15.25 percent of total tourists).
China edged out Japan for the third place, with 340,958 arrivals (11.45 percent); followed by Japan, at 260,656 (8.75 percent); and Australia, at 126,209 (4.24 percent).
Rounding out the top source markets for visitor arrivals in the Philippines are Taiwan, 112,152; Singapore, 92,080; Canada, 91,412; the United Kingdom, 86,873; and Malaysia, 72,297.
Among the top 10 markets, China posted the highest growth in arrivals at 79.15 percent, followed by Taiwan at 31.3 percent. The data has yet to reflect the expected slowdown of Chinese visitor arrivals after the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague ruled on July 12 against China in its dispute with the Philippines over the South China Sea.
Since then, reports of cancellations by Chinese tourists of bookings in Cebu, Bohol and Boracay have been reported due to an informal travel ban by the Beijing government. (Read, “Sea-row ruling driving Chinese tourists away,” in the BusinessMirror, July 20, 2016.)
Canizal, however, said the DOT “expects high [visitors] volume for July and in the last quarter” of 2016, negating any possible slowdown in the Chinese market due to the sea-row ruling. “Yes, despite cancellations from China, based on initial data, July is still good,” he said.
Total visitor receipts in the first half of 2016, jumped by 14.7 percent to an estimated P127.37 billion, from P111.05 billion in the same period in 2015. The month of February registered the biggest earnings for the tourism industry at P27.5 billion, as well as the highest growth of 42.09 percent.
The Ninoy Aquino International Airport was the primary port of entry to the country, with visitor volume in the month of June alone reaching 307,447. This accounted for some 67 percent of total visitors to the Philippines that month of 459,138.
Other major ports of entry include the Mactan International Airport in Cebu, which welcomed 77,900 visitors (16.97 percent of total June arrivals); Kalibo International Airport in Aklan, at 52,401 (11.41 percent); and the Clark International Airport, Pampanga, at 14,437 (3.14 percent). Other airports received 3,162 visitors in June.