Tourist arrivals has hit the five-million mark in August indicating that the tourism target can be reached in the last quarter of 2019.
According the Department of Tourism (DOT), the number of inbound foreign guests reached 5,554,950 for the period of January to August this year.
This is a 14.08 percent increase compared to the same period last year.
“For the month of August alone, a total of 702,843 visitors arrived based on the data released by the DOT Office of Tourism Development Planning, Research and Information Management (DOT-OTDPRIM). This number is 27.54 percent higher than the 551,088 arrivals in the same month last year,” DOT said in a statement.
Tourism Secretary Berna Romulo Puyat thanked those who are supportive of the government’s sustainable tourism program.
“This is very encouraging even as we await the completion of the statistics gathered for the month of September. The convergence approach of the DOT with other government agencies and its partners in the industry is proving effective in expanding travel connectivity while inviting more tourists to come and visit through more enticing tourism products and packages.” Puyat said.
Korea retains the most number of tourists with 185,334 visitors in August. China recorded 170,903 in the same period. Japan on the other hand recorded 78,699 tourists to take the third spot, overtaking the United States, which accounted for 68,418 tourists in the month of August.
