ABOUT 1.2 million foreign visitors arrived in the Philippines in the first three months of 2013, increasing by 4.5 percent the figures registered during the same period last year.
Tourists visiting the Philippines also increased their average expenditure from $84 per night in 2010 to $93 per night now or $960 for the whole stay of an average tourist in the country, Tourism Undersecretary Daniel Corpuz said on Tuesday.
The cumulative revenue from the foreign tourist arrivals amounted to $1.15 billion, or P47.2 billion at the current exchange rate, from January to March this year. In 2011 the estimated total revenue from foreign tourist arrivals was P100 billion for the entire year.
In its campaign to boost tourism, the Department of Tourism (DOT) said it will seek to improve tourist infrastructure and facilities such as roads and hotels; develop human resources and local governance in tourist areas to make these attractive to visitors; and aggressively expand tourist markets and local products that are attractive to visitors.
While the country’s white-sand beaches and resorts have been big attractions to foreign tourists, Corpuz said the Philippines has more to offer, aside from “sand, sea and sun tourism.”
The DOT is also developing the country as model site for tourist conventions and meetings, a diving and marine sports mecca and a center for English-language studies, especially for students from China, South Korea and Japan who wish to learn English.
Corpuz also said the Philippines is also being developed as a retirement haven, as well as a center for wellness and medical tourism.
“The country is well on its way to achieving its 5-million tourist-arrival target for 2013,” he added.
The department failed to reach its 4.6-percent annual tourist target last year; it recorded only 4.2 million foreign tourist arrivals. In 2014 Corpuz said, the department is targeting 10 million foreign arrivals.
Original post @ http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/index.php/news/top-news/12510-tourism-earned-p47-2-billion-in-q1
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