The Department of Tourism (DOT) is pleased to share the good news that foreign visitor arrivals for the month of July 2018 tallied at 601, 322 posting a growth rate of 5.86 percent from the 568, 035 recorded in the same period last year.
This brings the total visitor count from January to July 2018 at 4, 308, 043 or a 9.74 percent jump from the 3,925, 626 arrivals recorded last year.
Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo- Puyat stressed that “things are looking brighter for the tourism industry. With the roll-out of a comprehensive branding campaign in the coming months and the scheduled reopening of a better Boracay on October 26, we are optimistic that we will hit, or better yet, surpass our target of 7.4 million for 2018.”
According to the data gathered by the Statistics, Economic Analysis and Information Management Division (SEAIMD) of the DOT, Korea remains the country’s top source market , followed by China, United States, Japan and Australia.
“With the challenges and hurdles the industry is facing, maintaining the positive trajectory of visitor arrivals is not an easy feat, but the industry has kept itself afloat. We only have our stakeholders and government partners to thank. But of course, this will not be possible without the dedicated men and women of the DOT”, enthused the Tourism Chief.