International Arrivals in PH Reach 8.26-M, Exceed Annual Target for 2019
2019 is a celebratory year for Philippine tourism as the number of international visitors exceeded the annual target set in the National Tourism Development Plan for 2016-2022.
In 2019, international visitors numbered to 8.26 million, exceeding the target of 8.2 million.
Ninoy Aquino International Airport
In a press release by the Department of Tourism (DOT), Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat stated that breaching the eight millionth mark is a milestone in the country’s tourism history.
“Without doubt, our convergence programs with other government agencies, particularly in improving access as well as product development and marketing initiatives with local government and private sector have greatly paid off. These gains we hope to sustain even as we face global challenges,” she said.
The year-end visitor report showed a 15.24% growth over 2018’s year-end total of 7.16 million. Most months showed double growth rates, August being the largest with 27.54% while December showed the highest volume at 776,798.
Siargao Island in Surigao del Norte
Retaining its spot as the top source market is Korea with a total of 1.98 million arrivals, which cites a 22.48% increase. Korea has been in this ace spot since 2010.
China boasts a 38.58% growth with 1.74 million arrivals followed by the USA that cited 1.06 million visitors (2.90% increase). Japan takes the fourth spot with 682,788 arrivals which shows an 8.07% growth followed by Taiwan that showed an impressive double-digit increase of 35.01% for its 327,273 arrivals.
Also read: DOT Welcomes Japanese Couple as PH’s 8-Millionth Tourist in 2019
Also included in the top 12 visitor markets are Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Malaysia, India, and Germany.
The Venice Piazza in McKinley Hill
In 2019, DOT launched a rebranded campaign still with the slogan “It’s More Fun in the Philippines” but with an advocacy for sustainable tourism. Additionally, DOT also launched the “Save Our Spots” movement that promotes responsible tourism and preservation of the country’s natural and man-made wonders.
Additionally, the Philippine tourism industry also received a number of accolades in 2019 including “World’s Leading Dive Destination” and “Asia’s Leading Tourism Board” at the 2019 World Travel Awards and the Excellent Partner Award (for Sustainable Efforts in Boracay) among others.
Also read: PH Wins as Best Diving Destination at the World Travel Awards 2019
Boracay Island, Malay, Aklan
With these, Secretary Puyat concluded that this indeed is a high point for Philippine tourism, further solidifying the effectiveness of the Tourism Act of 2009, which celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2019.
Source: tourism.gov.ph
