THE Department of Tourism (DOT) 7 reported a 5.36 percent increase in domestic arrivals to Cebu from January to September this year compared with the same period in 2008.

In the first nine months this year, there were 748,861 domestic tourists, which is 38,098 more than the 710,763 domestic tourist arrivals in Cebu in the first nine months in 2008.

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Phineas Alburo, former tourism undersecretary and currently DOT senior adviser, said this increase is attributed to the department’s efforts to intensively promote local destinations like Bohol, Siargao, Palawan and Boracay.

Promotions were made through media outlets. Airline companies, hotels, and resorts also adjusted their offers to encourage Filipinos to travel.

“The global financial crisis has affected several economies, including Korea, which is Cebu’s top tourist market. This (situation) has prompted us to tap the domestic tourists,” Alburo told Sun.Star Cebu in a phone interview yesterday.

The effects of the economic turmoil on several countries had led to a 3.40 percent decline in the number of foreign travelers to Cebu or 501,372 in January to September 2008 to 484,341 in the same months this year.

Top 3 markets

According to DOT 7 records, Cebu’s top three tourist markets–Korea, Japan, and US–posted a drop in the volume of tourists.

There were 164,594 Koreans in Cebu in January to September 2008. In the same period this year, the number fell to 140,351, reflecting a 14.73 percent decline.

Japanese arrivals also went down by 3.97 percent from 110,007 in the same period last year to 105,642 in the same period this year.

Arrivals from the United States also went down by 14.47 percent from 51,956 tourists in the first nine months of 2008 to 44,436 in the same period this year.

Alburo said the drop is only temporary and the tourism department is expecting an increase during the holidays in December and January.

“It will get better,” he said.

At present, the DOT is pushing for more promotions in other potential markets like Russia and India.

Notably, the China and Hong Kong tourist arrivals increased by 96.41 percent and 5.04 percent, respectively.

There were 14,584 Chinese travelers in the first nine months of 2008 and the volume increased to 28,645 in the same period this year. Hong Kong travelers to Cebu increased from 16,828 in January to September last year to 17,676 in the same period this year.