Wednesday, February 20, 2008
300T tourists visited RP in January (2:09 p.m.)
MANILA -- About 300,000 tourists visited the country in January alone, the Department of Tourism (DOT) reported.
The DOT records indicated that a total of 293,803 foreign tourists visited the country last month.
The Korean market gained headway as it supplied the biggest number of tourists in January 2008 with 23.7 percent of the total tourist traffic with a contribution of 69,522 arrivals.
The US market was next producing 58,486, capturing 19.9 percent of the total traffic. This market gained 5.1 percent when compared to its recorded arrivals of 55,632 in January 2007.
Japan, with arrivals numbering 34,432 came in third constituting 11.7 percent of the total volume.
A marked increase in arrivals from China was noted as it grew by 38.1 percent, contributing 13,691 visitors and capturing 4.7 percent of the total inbound traffic.
Arrivals from Australia provided the fifth biggest volume by yielding 11,218 visitors, comprising 3.8 percent of the total visitor volume. This market recorded an increase of 19.2 percent versus its arrivals of 9,414 in 2007.
Other markets with substantial contribution were Canada with 11,017 arrivals and growth of 12.3 percent, Taiwan with 9,618 arrivals and growth of 14.2 percent, Singapore with 7,429 arrivals and growth of 11.0 percent, United Kingdom with 7,200 arrivals and growth of 16.6 percent and Hong Kong with 7,084 arrivals and growth of 5.6 percent.
Three cruise ships arrived in January, with two ships disembarking in Manila South Harbor with a total of 2,200 visitors while the remaining cruise disembarked in Subic with visitors totaling 302.
The considerable turnout of visitors in January also set a new record for the month in review with a 7.8 percent growth.
Tourist receipts amounted to US$394.04 million up by 24.23 percent than the January 2007 visitor receipts of US$317.19 million.
The average per capita expenditure of visitors for the month in review was computed at US$1,181, with an average daily expenditure of US$73.96 and average length of stay of 15.97 nights.
By regional grouping, the East Asian region supplied almost half of the total traffic base with 134,347 arrivals and a share of 45.7 percent or an increment of 2.8 percent vis-à-vis its volume of 130,725 the previous year.
The North American region had an aggregate total of 69,636 arrivals, making it the second biggest source of visitor traffic to the country.
Heavy influx of arrivals was noted from the US and Canada which recorded arrivals of 58,486 and 11,017, respectively.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) region shared 6.5 percent to total visitor volume with 19,083 arrivals.
Meanwhile, the Australasia/Pacific region contributed 5.1 percent to total traffic base with a production of 14,854 arrivals to become the fourth biggest source of arrivals for the country. Arrivals from this region increased by 14.7 percent when compared to the 2007 volume of 12,945 arrivals.
Outnumbering the Western European region, the fifth biggest contributor was the Northern European region with arrivals aggregating to 13,125 with a 4.5 percent share to total arrivals. It recorded an increase of 20.9 percent versus its output of 10,858 arrivals in 2007. (MSN/Sunnex) |
