THE Department of Tourism has said nearly 1.8 million foreign travelers flocked to the Philippines in the first quarter of this year, with the agency optimistic that more would come following the government’s massive investments in infrastructure, aggressive marketing efforts, the expansion of airline routes and lower crime rates.
Tourism Secretary Wanda Teo brushed aside concerns about DOT not meeting its tourism arrival targets following travel advisories caused by the robbery-arson incident at Resorts World Manila and the attacks of the Maute Group in Marawi City that prompted President Duterte to declare martial law in Mindanao.
“There will always been travel advisories following incidents like these. But the tourists will come back eventually, they will rebook,” Teo told reporters in a press conference last week.
“The Philippines is too enticing a destination to keep people away. People will still come,” she added.
In a statement, Teo said Philippines remains a “perennial destination for” tourists, with international arrivals breaching the million mark as early as February of this year.
“A total of 1,784,882 visitors have come to the country in the first three months as we continue with our efforts to increase the country’s capacity under the National Tourism Development Plan (NTDP) 2017-2022,” the secretary said.
Nearly half of the tourists came from South Korea, with the rest coming from the United States, China, Japan and Australia.