MANILA – The Department of Tourism (DOT) said international visitor arrivals from January to August surged to almost 5.6 million, 14 percent higher compared to the same period last year.
The DOT said that in August alone, 702,843 visitors arrived, which was 27 percent higher than the 551,088 arrivals in the same month last year.
“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,” said DOT secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat.
The DOT said that in August, visitors from Korea topped the number of arrivals with 185,334 tourists; followed by China, which recorded 170,903 in the same period.
Japan was third with 78,699 tourists, overtaking the United States, which accounted for 68,418 tourists. (ABS-CBN News)
