The Philippines confirm their good tourism performance for 2013

MANILA- Foreign tourist arrivals in the Philippines grew by 9.56 percent last year from 2012 despite natural disasters that hit the central part of the country during the last quarter, according to statistics released Friday.

The Tourism Department data shows more than 4.6 million foreign visitors came in 2013, surpassing the previous year's figure of 4.27 million, and generating revenue worth $4.4 billion. It was however slightly under the expected five million arrivals, as catastrophes at the end of last year whipped out a few percentage of growth of the final result.

The department attributed the growth to such factors as the successful conclusion of air services agreement with South Korea and the opening of new regular and chartered air services.
South Korea, which has been the Philippines' biggest market for tourists for several years, accounted for about a fourth of last year's arrivals, growing by 13 percent.

The United States came second, representing 14.4 percent of the market, followed by Japan with 9.26 percent and China with 9.11 percent. Other major sources are Australia, Singapore, Taiwan, Canada, Hong Kong, Britain, Malaysia and Germany.

Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez said last year's growth could have been higher if not for a major quake in the central island provinces of Bohol and Cebu on Oct. 15, and supertyphoon Haiyan that devastated Samar and Leyte provinces on Nov. 8. "We were somewhat affected as there were some cancellations," Jimenez told Kyodo News in a text message.

"But the recovery has been accelerated thanks to the support from around the globe," department spokesman Benito Bengzon said in a separate message, adding, "We remain confident that 2014 will be another banner year for Philippine tourism."

Jimenez said in a statement the government foresees better opportunities for growth in the industry this year as the country plays host to international events like the 5th World Ecotourism Conference and the World Economic Forum East Asia Summit.

Speaking at a travel tour expo during the day, President Benigno Aquino said "the goal now is not merely to maintain our growth, but to cement our position as one of the world's vacation hot spots. By implementing reforms in civil aviation, by liberalizing airspace through the Pocket Open Skies Policy, and by rationalizing taxes on foreign carriers, we have created more opportunities for both local and foreign airlines to expand operations in and out of the Philippines,".

Sourced: TravelDailyNews