Over 1.49-M foreign tourists visited Philippines from Jan-Feb

MANILA, Philippines —At least 1.49 million foreign tourists have visited the Philippines over the first two months of 2019, the Department of Tourism (DOT) disclosed on Wednesday.

“January to February, we already have 1.49 million foreign visitors,” Tourism Undersecretary Benito Bengzon Jr. said during the Kapihan sa Manila Bay at Cafe Adriatico.

According to DOT’s data, 1,490,255 foreign visitor arrivals were recorded from January to February 2019. 

“So this represents almost 6 percent growth compared to the same period last year. [About] 1.4 million last year for the first two months,” Bengzon added.

In January and February 2018, DOT recorded 1,406,337 foreign visitors.

Bengzon said Korea remains to be the top visitor market of the country while China and the United States (US) trail at number two and three, respectively. 

“Number one market natin Korea, number two China, number three, US, number four Japan, number five Taiwan,” Bengzon said. /jpv