TACLOBAN CITY ? Eastern Visayas benefited from the government?s holiday economics as shown by the increase in local tourist arrivals in 2007.

Department of Tourism (DOT) records showed that local tourists who came to Eastern Visayas rose from 189,645 in 2006 to 211,505 in 2007.

DOT regional director Karina Rosa Tiopes said more domestic tourists visited destinations within the country due to longer rest days instead of just staying home to watch TV.

Tiopes said records showed that tourist arrivals in the region surged during the long holidays.

?So there is really a positive side to the economic holiday being implemented by our government,? Tiopes said on Tuesday.

Tiopes said the region?s tourist attractions included the MacArthur National Park in Palo town, Leyte; the Sto. Niño Museum and the sequestered ?summer residence? of the Marcoses, both in Tacloban City; several caves like the Sohoton National Park in Basey, Samar; and beach destinations like the Calicoan Island.

Calicoan Island has been promoted as the region?s version of world-famous Boracay.

Tiopes said the tourism industry in Eastern Visayas still lags behind Central Visayas (Cebu, Bohol, Negros Oriental and Siquijor) and Western Visayas (Iloilo, Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Guimaras and Negros Occidental) but the rising tourist arrivals in the region already indicate that local tourism is getting ?very, very vibrant.?

She said DOT hoped that its aggressive campaign would bring in more tourists to the region.