Arrival figures in Cebu were also up.

Arrival figures in Cebu were also up.

Cebu recorded 1,131,230 visitors in the first seven months of the year, up by 10.52 percent from 1,023,564 in the same period last year.

The DOT 7 said Cebu’s foreign visitor arrivals grew by 16.26 percent or 473,133 from 406,955 arrivals last year. Domestic arrivals, likewise, grew by 6.73 percent from 616,609 arrivals to 658,097.

TOURIST arrivals in the country grew by 11.72 percent in the first eight months of the year from 2,330,584 in 2010 to 2,603,675 visitors this year.

Koreans still account for the biggest number of arrivals, according to the Department of Tourism (DOT).

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About 24 percent or 615,218 of the total arrivals in the Philippines were from South Korea. The DOT said the Korean market continued to register a double-digit growth at 29.68 percent, from its 474,395 arrivals last year.

An average of 300,000 arrivals per month was observed.

The largest group of arrivals was in July, with 360,784, while the growth rate was highest in February, an 18.52 percent.

US arrivals accounted 16.49 percent of the total, at 429,280. The US market also grew by 5.32 percent compared to its 407,613 arrivals recorded last year.

Despite the tsunami in March, Japanese visitors continued to travel to the Philippines, with 253,529 arrivals, a 5.41 percent growth from the 240,528 in the same period last year.

In terms of regional sources of visitors, the DOT said the East Asian region accounted for nearly half at 46.71 percent or 1,216,222 arrivals in the first eight months of the year.

The region recorded 16.72 percent growth from its 1,041,980 arrivals in the Philippines in 2010.

North American visitors made up the second largest group, by region, at 19.46 percent with 506,772 visitors. This was up by 6.65 percent from 475,181 arrivals in the previous year.

The Southeast Asian region is the country’s third biggest source of tourists with 217,454 arrivals or 8.53 percent. The region posted a growth of 13.02 percent from 192,410 arrivals last year.

The Aquino administration aims to draw 6.3 million tourists into the country by 2016.

Arrival figures in Cebu were also up.

Cebu recorded 1,131,230 visitors in the first seven months of the year, up by 10.52 percent from 1,023,564 in the same period last year.

The DOT 7 said Cebu’s foreign visitor arrivals grew by 16.26 percent or 473,133 from 406,955 arrivals last year. Domestic arrivals, likewise, grew by 6.73 percent from 616,609 arrivals to 658,097.

Arrivals from Korea grew more than half at 53.01 percent from 135,207 arrivals last year to 206,885 this year. Koreans were followed by the Japanese, with arrival figures growing at 3.28 percent or 87,461 arrivals from 84,686 recorded in the same period in 2010.

The US market grew by 6.15 percent from 41,760 to 44,329 arrivals this year.

Meanwhile, arrivals from China dropped by almost half at 45.38 percent from 26,427 arrivals last year to 14,435 this year. The Australian market, on the other hand, grew by 19.70 percent or 12,755 arrivals this year compared to 10,656 arrivals recorded in the previous year.

Other top markets of Cebu included the United Kingdom with 7,915 arrivals; Hong Kong at 7,612; Germany at 7,567; Canada at 6,550; and Singapore at 6,257.

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on October 15, 2011.

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