Thursday, July 19, 2007 Tourist numbers in Cebu up
TOURIST arrivals in Cebu went up 24.24 percent in the first four months of the year, according to data from the Department of Tourism (DOT) 7.
From a total of 403,335 in the same period last year, visitor arrivals registered in the province rose to 501,107 early this year. Of the total, 42.97 percent or 214,360 were foreign visitors while domestic travelers reached 286,747.
Koreans continued to top the list of foreign arrivals in Cebu next to the Japanese with 47,228 and tourists from the United States totaling 23,423.
The Koreans, which make up the fastest growing market of the country’s tourism industry, numbered 79,451 from January to April this year, up by 59.37 percent from the 49,852 in the same period last year.
The number of foreign visitors coming from Southeast Asian countries grew 113.61 percent to 6,342 from January to April this year compared to 2,969 in 2006.
Leading the growth in terms of number of tourists is Singapore with 2,928 visitors, followed by Malaysia with 1,504 and Indonesia with 848.
Succesful hosting
In terms of growth rate though, tourist arrivals from Vietnam grew about six times to 73 in the first four months of this year from only 12 in 2006.
Tourism Undersecretary Phineas Alburo said the growth in Asean visitors can be attributed to Cebu’s successful hosting of the 12th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit last January.
“It has placed Cebu in the map of the world as a tourism and business destination. We created the right perception and image,” he said.
In addition, a “well-organized” tourism industry coupled with the Cebuanos’ hospitality led by “active” local leaders make Cebu a popular tourism hot spot, he added.
Travelers from East Asian countries like China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea and Taiwan account for 41.51 percent of the total number of tourists or a total of 141,366 visitors.
Chinese tourists, which are seen to be a potentially strong market in the coming years, tripled their growth from 1,915 to 4,885.
Efforts made by tourism stakeholders in luring Indian tourists are now delivering positive results, Alburo said. South Asian tourists
The number of Indian guests and those from other South Asian countries traveling to Cebu doubled early this year with 1,231 visitors from 614 in the same period of 2006.
In a document furnished to Sun.Star Cebu, foreign arrivals from the western part of the globe also registered a double digit growth as they foresee bright prospects in Cebu’s tourism sector.
Visitor arrivals from the United States and Canada totaled 26,515 from 19,316 or a jump of 37.27 percent.
The number of European tourists in Cebu grew 35.43 percent to 23,812 this year from 17,583 in 2006.
Tourists from the United Kingdom, Germany and Switzerland were continually identified as the top three visitors of the province.
Apart from the stakeholders’ aggressive marketing campaigns, growth in the European market is due to the presence of the Philippine tourism offices in Frankfurt (Germany) and London (United Kingdom), Alburo said.
The DOT 7 data also showed that Cebu is a magnet for domestic travelers and overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). The number of visiting OFWs grew to 1,454 from 831 in 2006.
Alburo said he believes that the growth in foreign and domestic arrivals will continue to increase in the coming months as the country’s economy improves further. (MMM)
