Philippine tourist arrivals hit all-time high
Agence France-Presse
Posted at 01/28/2011 2:34 PM | Updated as of 01/28/2011 7:02 PM
MANILA, Philippines - Tourist arrivals in the Philippines reached an all-time high of 3.52 million last year as increasingly affluent South Koreans and Chinese flocked to its tropical attractions, the government said Friday.
Visitor numbers in 2010 beat the previous record despite a bus hijacking that left eight Hong Kong tourists dead in August and a series of travel alerts by Western nations in November warning of an imminent terror attack.
The number of tourists arriving in the Philippines rose 16.68% over the previous year, with East Asians, led by South Koreans, accounting for nearly half the total, the tourism ministry said in a statement.
"The improved economic condition in these markets boosted their outbound traffic," the statement said.
The final numbers topped the annual target of 3.3 million set by President Benigno Aquino's government, which is seeking to boost tourist arrivals to six million by the time he leaves office in mid-2016.
Traffic from fellow Association of Southeast Asian Nations members should surge this year after passenger air services were liberalized within the 10-nation economic bloc in November last year, the ministry said.
The previous record for arrivals was set in 2008 with 3.14 million visitors.
The Philippines is targeting 3.7 million tourist arrivals this year, but this is still just a fraction of the tourist numbers enjoyed by Southeast Asian neighbors such as Thailand.
Reaction:
It is true indeed that the Philippines have many beautiful and magnificent tourist spots. Some are not yet discovered and developed by Filipinos. These amazing sceneries in our country are the reason why many tourists keep on coming. But the unforgettable bus high jacking incident last year really threatened the tourism in our country. We really expect that the incident would scare off the tourists and will cause great decline in our tourism.
But as it turned out, tourist arrivals even increase last year. There was a sigh of relief for sure to many Filipinos out there especially to businessmen. I am extremely happy to hear this news because as a citizen of this country it is very good to know that there are people who love and appreciate the beauty of your motherland knowing the crisis it is facing. Tourists help our economy to progress. Because of them, there are more jobs available to Filipinos and this will help aid the unemployment problems in our country. Through our foreign visitors, we will also be able to promote our country more and hopefully will help our economy grow and get better somehow. Our government has done a good job in maintaining the tourist arrivals here and they were also able to increase it.
We should also thank the South Koreans since half of the tourists all over the country are comprised by them. I am fully aware with it since I can see many Koreans in school and I also have Korean friends. According to them, they really love to stay here in our country because they were able to experience many things and Filipinos are very nice and hospitable. It makes me very proud that I am Filipino after hearing it from them because my country was able to offer happiness and leisure to other people. Hopefully, these good things will continue and all other wonderful places will be well-promoted. These can initiate lasting relationship with people in different race and the beginning of a better life for us Filipinos.
