3.92-M tourists visit Philippines in 2011

MANILA, Philippines – Tourist arrivals in the Philippines reached an all-time high in 2011, attributed mainly to aggressive campaigns and increased flights.

Foreign tourist arrivals reached 3.917 million visitors in 2011, an 11.3% jump from 3.52 million in the previous year.

This surpassed the government’s own 3.7 million target for 2011.

“When the industry exceeds expectations as it had done last year, we feel very encouraged. And with the overwhelming response to our new brand campaign launched last month, we know that we have broken ground on crowdsourcing,” said Tourism Secretary Ramon R. Jimenez Jr.

Previously, local airlines also reported increased number of passengers in their regional routes. Budget carriers Cebu Pacific, Zest Air, and Seair launched additional or new flights, or increased flight frequencies, to destinations within the region, fetching tourists from hubs like Singapore, Bangkok, and Kuala Lumpur. 

The growth of tourism has been largely attributed to liberalized air policy in the Philippines. Almost all foreign tourists reach Manila, Boracay or other gateways by flying. 
 
Visitors in November and December, traditionally a high season in local tourism, grew exponentially to 337,021 and 394,567, respectively. November figures showed an impressive 19.8% growth.

“Ten out of the 12 months last year saw figures north of 300,000. The 2011 figure also includes returning overseas Filipinos, who numbered 207,152,” the tourism department said in a statement on Thursday, February 9.

Banking on its new campaign strategy, the mostly crowdsourced “It’s more fun in the Philippines,” the tourism department has set a target of 4.2 million tourist arrivals this 2012 and 10 million by 2016.

Based on the Tourism Department’s data, below are the top foreign visitors in 2011:

1. Korea – 925,204 arrivals (23.62% overall share)
2. US – 624,527 (15.94%)
3. Japan – 375,496 (9.59%)
4. China – 243,137 (6.21%) (up 29.7% from 2010)
5. Taiwan – 181,738 (4.64% (up 27.6%)
6. Australia – 170,736
7. Singapore – 137,802 (3.52%)
8. Canada – 117,423 (3%)
9. Hong Kong – 112,106  (2.86%)
10. United Kingdom – 104,466 (2.67%)
11. Malaysia – 91,752 (2.34%)
12. Germany – 61,193 (1.56%)
13. India – 42,844 (1.09%) (up 23.89%)
14. Guam – 41,013 (1.05%)
15. Indonesia – 34,542 (0.88%)
16. France – 29,591 (0.76%)
17. Saudi Arabia – 27,945 (0.71%) (up 25.8%)
18. Netherlands – 21,029 (0.54%)
19. Switzerland – 22,335 (0.57%)
20. Russia – 20,185 (0.52%)

Of the 3.917 million total for tourist arrivals, overseas Filipinos account for 5.29% or 207,152. – Rappler.com