FOREIGNERS who visited the Philippines and opted to extend their stay in January to July this year increased by 34 percent, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) reported on Tuesday, belying allegations that the country’s tourism industry is on decline.

In a statement released on Tuesday, Immigration Commissioner Ricardo David Jr. said from January to July, there were 81,287 foreigners who extended their stay beyond the period of their visa.

The figure was 20,804 higher than the 60,483 extensions granted during the same period last year.

“It appears that foreign visitors become more attracted to our country to the extent that many of them would decide to prolong their stay instead of leaving before the lapse of their visa,” David said on Tuesday.

Based on the BI data, tourist visa extensions were highest in January and July, when more than 13,000 applications each were processed compared with 9,000 in July 2010.

BI Extension Office Head Rodelio Sapian said under the existing rules, the nonvisa foreign tourists are allowed to stay for 21 days upon their arrival in the Philippines, while visa-required nationals are granted an initial stay of 59 days.

“All of them may extend their sojourn in the Philippines before the lapse of their authorized visit so long as they do not violate the conditions of their stay and pay the required extension fees with the bureau,” Sapian explained.

Earlier, the Department of Tourism (DOT) reported that tourist arrivals reached more than 1.3 million during the first four months of the year, or an increase of 13.33 percent vis-à-vis the 1,153,198 who came in the same period in 2010.

The DOT said tourists from East Asia, notably South Korea and Taiwan, accounted for the bulk of the foreign visitors.