15 countries that can boost PH tourism

MANILA, Philippines – To reach its target of increasing tourist arrivals in the Philippines, the government could intensify its “It’s more fun in the Philippines” campaign among the top 15 tourism spenders. 

In a statement on Thursday, April 4, the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) said the biggest tourism spender in the world is China which spent US$102 billion for tourism in 2012. This accounted for 9.5% of the market. 

“Over the past decade China has been, and still is, by far the fastest-growing tourism source market in the world. Thanks to rapid urbanization, rising disposable incomes and relaxation of restrictions on foreign travel, the volume of international trips by Chinese travellers has grown from 10 million in 2000 to 83 million in 2012,” UNWTO said. 

The UNWTO also said expenditures made by Chinese tourists abroad increased by 8-fold since 2000. The 2012 expenses of Chinese tourists was a 40% increase from the $73 billion recorded in 2011. 

In 2005 China ranked 7th in international tourism expenditure, and has since successively overtaken Italy, Japan, France and the United Kingdom. With the 2012 surge, China leapt to 1st place, surpassing both top spender Germany and 2nd largest spender United States (both close to $84 billion in 2012).

The 14 other countries included in list are:

“Emerging economies continue to lead growth in tourism demand. The impressive growth of tourism expenditure from China and Russia reflects the entry into the tourism market of a growing middle class from these countries, which will surely continue to change the map of world tourism,” UNWTO Secretary-General Taleb Rifai said in a statement. 

The UNWTO said, however, that key traditional source markets, usually growing at a slower pace, also posted positive results. Spending on travel abroad from Germany and the US grew by 6% each. 

Further, spending from the UK grew by 4% and the country retained its 4th place in the list of major source markets. Expenditure by Canada grew by 7%, while both Australia and Japan grew by 3%. 

On the other hand, France posted a contraction of 6% and Italy, a contraction of 1%. They were the only markets in the Top 10 to record a decline in international tourism spending.

The Philippines surpassed the 400,000 mark for visitor arrivals in the country in a month. The tourism department proudly announced the “record breaking high of 411,064 visitor arrivals in January.” 

The Aquino government hopes to meet its 4.6 million target for tourist arrivals this 2012 as the tourism department implements a full roll out of its “It’s More Fun in the Philippines” campaign. – Rappler.com