DOT: Tourist arrivals exceed 6 million in 9 months

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine tourism industry remains in a sweet spot with the country’s inbound visitor traffic surpassing the six million mark during the first three quarters of this year.

The Department of Tourism (DOT) on Friday released initial monthly data showing that the Philippines received a total of 6,161,503 visitors from January to September 2019.

That figure was 14.37 percent higher than the 5,387,458 arrivals in the same period last year.

The DOT also reported that a total of 606,553 visitors arrived in September, a lean month in Philippine tourism.

This represents a double-digit growth of 17.09 percent from the 518,041 visitors in September 2018, the DOT added.

South Koreans still top

For the first nine months, South Korea still topped the list with a total of 1,450,792, followed by China with 1,359,817.

The United States was third with 792,619 while Japan, which overtook the United States last month based on market share, remained fourth on the list with 518,211 arrivals.

“The figures look very promising. We are glad that more tourists are visiting us in light of the accolades received by the Philippines and our destinations throughout the year,” Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said in a statement.

Among the recent recognition given to the Philippines this year was the eight spot on the 20 Most Favorite Countries in the World of the Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards.

The Philippines was also hailed as Asia’s leading dive destination by the 2019 World Travel Awards (WTA) in its Asia and Oceania gala held last October in Phu Quoc, Vietnam.

Subsequently, the DOT was awarded as Asia’s leading tourism board by WTA in the same event.