For the Philippines, the first seven months of 2017 brought foreign tourists record to some 3.93 million, which is an increase of 11.02 percent from the same period in 2016.
Visitor receipts from January to July 2017 hit some P179.86 billion, which is an increase of 21.07 percent from the same seven-month period in 2016.
Data from the Department of Tourism (DOT) suggested that the continued swell in arrivals from China, as well as strong performances from various source markets in the early part of the year, are keeping tourist numbers in the Philippines quite positive, even
as monthly arrivals, especially from some major destinations, have slowed down.
The Tourism Undersecretary for Tourism Development Planning Benito C. Bengzon Jr. said the agency would be “in a better position to extrapolate” the year-end arrivals from China once the visitors data for July and August are collected.
In terms of source markets, arrivals from South Korea accounted for the largest number of tourists in the Philippines, totaling 132,135 in July 2017. This was, however, 7.5-percent less than the July 2016 arrivals, which reached 142,793.
The US ranked third with 86,017 visitor arrivals, an increase of 14.84 percent from
July 2016. Also, tourists stayed an average of 9.81 nights in the country in July 2017, compared to 8.47 nights in the same month in 2016.
According to the DOT, around 500,000 airline seats between the Philippines and other foreign destinations have been added this year.
