Wednesday, August 01, 2007 Cebu tourist arrivals increase; Koreans top list
TOURIST arrivals in Cebu jumped almost 24 percent in the first five months of the year compared to that of the same period in 2006, records from the Department of Tourism (DOT) 7 revealed.
From a total of 508,028 in the same period last year, visitor arrivals registered in the province rose to 629,541 from January to May this year. Of the total figure, 262,539 were foreign visitors while domestic travelers reached 367,002.
According to a DOT 7 document furnished to Sun.Star Cebu, the top market visitors continue to be the Koreans, followed by Japanese and Americans.
The Koreans, which make up the fastest growing market of the country’s tourism industry, numbered 98,822 from January to May this year, up by 61.26 percent from 61,280 in the same period last year.
Japanese visitors totaled 57,201 with a growth rate of 15.57 percent while the Americans numbered 29,285 or an increase of 34.31 percent.
Visitors from the country’s Asean neighbors grew from 3,722 in the first five months of 2006 to 7,411 in the same period this year, or an almost 100 percent increase.
Leading the growth in terms of number of tourists is Singapore with 3,583, followed by Malaysia with 1,735 and Thailand with 928.
Tourism Undersec-retary Phineas Alburo attributed the growth in the number of Asean visitors to Cebu’s successful hosting of the 12th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit last January.
Perception
“It has placed Cebu in the map of the world as a tourism and business destination. We created the right perception and image that’s why we have become a prime destination,” he said.
Travelers from East Asian countries like China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea and Taiwan went up by 40.93 percent or a total of 173,333 this year while last year’s figure was only at 122,993.
In terms of growth rate, Chinese tourists, who are seen to be a potentially strong market, grew by 120.96 percent from 2,624 in 2006 to 5,798 this year.
Indian visitors and those from other South Asian countries, considered as another potential market, numbered 1,476 which jumped 67.92 percent from 879 in 2006.
Cebu is also attracting more Europeans. The number of European guests rose to 42.19 percent in the first five months of the year to 28,944 from 20,356 last year.
Tourists from the United Kingdom, Germany and Switzerland were identified as the top three visitors of the province.
Europeans perceive the province as a leisure destination, which is why they are considered among the longest staying visitors, Alburo said.
In the same data however, visitors from Finland decreased by 39.52 percent or from 167 guests in January to May 2006 to 101 this year.
Cebu is also a destination for those from Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries. Visitors from this region totaled 1,586 from January to May this year.
The province is also a favorite among overseas Filipino workers whose numbers rose to 1,637 from January to May this year from the 954 in the same period last year.
With the country’s economic growth, more tourists are expected to arrive at the end of this year, said Alburo. (MMM)
