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The Philippines on the tourism radar

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MANILA, 28 August 2018 — The Philippines has popped up on the tourism radar, Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said earlier this week.

She was commenting on the state of tourism during the first six months that registered 4,133,050 international tourists marking an 11.43% increase.

“We are among the most sought-after destinations as tourist arrivals to the country continue to grow by leaps and bounds,” Romulo-Puyat said in her keynote address at the 7th Tourism Coordinating Council (TCC) meeting in Makati.

According to DOT’s January to June statistics, South Korea remains the Philippines’ top source market with 946,025 tourists arriving in the country, or 22.89% of total market share.

Other leading source markets are China with 866,561 visits; the United States with 569,204; Japan with 326,907; and Taiwan with 159,532.

Romulo-Puyat said the country has also registered an estimated PHP245 billion (USD4,678 million) in visitor receipts over the six-month period, a massive spike of 17.57% over the half-year gross revenue in 2018.

Tourism (Hospitality & Leisure) contributed the biggest piece of the GDP pie in 2018 accounted for 21% of the whole economy, followed by manufacturing and real estate.

“As we reach this halfway mark, it is time for us to come together and evaluate all our tourism convergence efforts, assess the effectiveness of the strategies and programs identified, make adjustments on the (National Tourism Development) Plan if needed, and prioritise the completion of remaining tasks at hand to ensure that the NTDP targets are achieved by its completion in 2022,” Romulo-Puyat said.

The meeting attracted heads of national agencies and government offices, DOT, non-governmental organisations, and the Tourism Congress of the Philippines that represents the private sector.

( Source: PNA)

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