04 August 2004
Tourists keep on coming despite adverse philippine travel advisories
They keep on coming !
Despite adverse travel advisories from foreign governments, tourists from temperate countries continue to come to enjoy the sultry climate and hospitality in the Philippines.
Based on records of the Department of Tourism’s Office of Research and Statistics, a double digit increase in tourist arrivals from all markets were significantly recorded during the first semester of 2004.
Arrival and departure cards from airports and shipping manifests from seaports showed that visitor arrivals reached 1,140,517 during the first six months, a 32.4 percent increase from last year’s figure of 1,083,361 for the same period.
The United States, which continues to issue adverse travel advisories to its nationals leaving for the Philippines, remains the country’s number one market, with 252,612 American travelers coming in during the first semester, a 35.5 percent growth rate year on year.
The United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada, countries with standing travel warnings against the Philippines, also posted positive growth rates for tourist arrivals in the country.
DOT statistics showed that 27,688 English tourists (22.1 percent increase from 22,671), 42,423 Australians (35.5 percent increase from 31,313) and 31,334 Canadians (32.3 percent increase from 23,681) visited the country during the first six months despite the negative travel advisories.
Taiwan registered a hefty 56.6 percent increase in arrivals, with 58,447 arrivals as compared with 37,323 for the same period last year. However, Japan and Korea contributed the biggest number of travelers, with 184,223 and 179,071 tourists respectively.#
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