MABALACAT CITY -- Central Luzon is one of the leading regions in the country in terms of domestic visitor arrivals with 3.1 million tourists last year.
Ronnie Tiotuico, Department of Tourism Central Luzon director, said this indicate an increase of 21 percent compared to 2013 with 2.7 million tourists.
He said the arrival figures are based on monthly survey reports submitted by accommodation establishments in the region.
Tiotuico said the figures represent foreign tourists or Filipino travellers that found themselves vacationing in the various provinces in the region, which are called domestic travellers.
He said Filipinos represent a large part on the number of tourist or a share of 72 percent of the total arrivals.
Arrivals of foreign nationality, on the other hand, represented a share of 1.54 percent, according to Tiotuico.
In 2014, Chinese tourists represented the biggest population among foreign visitors at 12.5 percent (390,431) of the total arrivals while Americans came in second at 3.08 percent (95,737); South Koreans took the third spot at 1.8 percent (55,692); and Singaporeans placed fourth at 1 percent (31,200).
Among the provinces and cities in the region, Subic Bay Freeport and Zambales occupied the first slot at 1.2 million arrivals while Clark/ Pampanga / Angeles City came in 2nd at .621 million; Bataan at .199 million, Bulacan, .109 million, and Aurora at .108 million.
Average occupancy rate for accommodation establishments in the region stood at 62 percent while the length of stay of travellers was recorded at 22 nights with over 1.2 available rooms during the year.
The total arrival at the Clark International Airport reached 384,221 in 2014 based on the Bureau of Immigration (BI) records of passengers from various destinations.
Of the total arrivals, 61 percent or 236,162 are Filipinos. South Koreans represented 14.7 percent or 56,591; and the Americans at .061 percent or 23,691.
Tiotuico attributed the “unprecedented” increase in visitor arrivals in the region in 2014 to the significant developments in Clark and Subic - two of the most favored destinations.
“Among the events that triggered movement of people include the conduct of M.I.C.E. convention in June of last year which propelled the region to higher ground as the convention capital in the North Philippines if not in the entire country,” Tiotuico said.
The tourism regional office is set to come up with an audio-visual production or documentary on the potential of the region, he added.
Also paving the way for the development of the region as a major destination is Aurora with its annual surfing event in February of every year, according to the official.
“The event never ceases to attract foreign and local aqua sports enthusiasts," he said.
The recent infrastructure improvement at the Clark airport terminal to a capacity of 4 million passenger per year also paved the way for the recognition of the airport as one of the most preferred gateways in the country, he said.
“The energized re-constitution of the Association of Tourism Officers of Central Luzon (ATOCEL) played a vital role in developing the region as a major destination with the recent hosting of a number of major festivals and events in most cities and municipalities – resulting from the conduct of seminars on festival planning and management,” Tiotuico said.
The participation of the region including its private stakeholders and major players to major tourism and travel expositions in Cebu and Davao including the Tara na sa Norte in Makati City contributed in a significant way to the increase in arrivals to the region, he added.
“The long-running expo introduced to the potential travellers in Manila the myriad of major destinations of the region,” Tiotuico said.
The event was initiated by the Manila North Tollways Corporation (MNTC) in cooperation with the chapter members of North Phils Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Association of Tourism Officers of Central Luzon.