DOT Hopes To Sustain Chinese Tourist Arrivals

With the Chinese market reflecting the biggest growth in tourist arrivals to the Philippines with 130,916 visitors this year, the Department of Tourism (DOT) has expressed hope that this surge will continue regardless of sea disputes.

Data from the DOT showed that China with 130, 916 visitors this year is nearly double the 62,976 visitor in the same period last year. Chinese tourists are also third top spending market with expenditure totaling Php 1.71 billion.

DOT said that the influx of arrivals from China could be attributed to the Chinese New Year celebrations in the country and more frequencies between Manila and China.

Currently, there are also around seven airlines which serve routes between Manila and China namely Philippine Airlines (PAL), Cebu Pacific, AirAsia, China Eastern, China Southern, Xiamen Air and Air China.

There are also a number of charter flights linked to Boracay and Cebu.

The country has seen the highest growth rate and the biggest volume of visitor arrivals this February 2016 with a total of 549,725 visitors for a double-digit increase of 20.42 percent from 2015.

For the month of February 2016, 544,948 visitors or 99.13 percent of the total inbound visitors entered the country through various airports while the rest, 4,777 visitors entered through various seaports. (PNA) RMA/ANP