International visitor arrivals peaked at 568,035 in July this year, generating Php 33,525.63 million in visitor receipts, the Department of Tourism (DOT) disclosed Wednesday.
Although the total visitor arrivals is only 1.28 percent higher from July 2016 arrivals of 560,872, the total visitor receipts in July this year reflect a double-digit growth of 58.22 percent from the previous year’s July expenditures of Php 21,188.97 million.
“These figures are significant in terms of measuring our tourism industry’s sustainability. We hope to see this upward trend as an indication that our industry is working hard at attracting more of the high-spending segments or that product diversification has yielded more options to do and spend for,” said DOT Secretary Wanda Tulfo-Teo.
The latest statistics show that the average daily expenditure (ADE) for July is Php 5,989.49 while the average length of stay (ALoS) of tourists in the country is recorded at 9.81 nights.
The average per capita expenditure of visitors for July is pegged at Php 58,756.86.
Korea remained the most fruitful visitor market for July registering 132,135 arrivals. China dislodged the United States for the second spot, registering 90,763 and 86,017 arrivals, respectively.
“Beijing apparently is making good its promise to send more tourists to the Philippines to help boost the country’s visitor arrival figures,” the tourism chief said.
Conversely, Korea came out as the top-spending market with an estimated expenditure of Php 9.83 billion for July. In close second, China churned out almost Php 8.89 billion while third-placer United States spent Php 3.95 billion.
At fourth spot, Taiwan posted an estimated expenditure of Php 2.17 billion, followed by Japan with Php 1.66 billion.
The consistent monthly growth in visitor arrivals, now totaling 3,925,626 from January to July 2017, strongly indicates the feasibility of reaching the tourism sector’s target of seven million visitors for the year.
