Visitor arrivals hit 2.1M in first four months

THE PHILIPPINES registered 2.1 million visitor arrivals in the four months to April, falling 0.82% behind the pace from a year earlier following reduced traffic from South Korea, the Department of Tourism (DoT) reported.

The arrivals consist of 1.93 million foreign travelers and 170,815 overseas Filipinos.

In the first four months, South Korea remained the country’s top source of tourist arrivals with 468,337 travelers or a 22.25% market share. Korean traffic was down 18% from a year earlier.

“There were political and market uncertainties in South Korea since the martial law declaration in December,” Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said via Viber.

However, he said that arrivals from South Korea are likely to recover “if the country’s political and economic situation continues to stabilize or improve.”

“This could be offset by Trump’s tariffs that could slow down export-oriented economies such as South Korea,” he added.

Colliers Research Director Joey Roi H. Bondoc said that the weaker won was a factor in dampening Korean travel.

“This is definitely beyond the control of our tourism officials … (but) I think what the government needs to do is to actively explore other markets such as India and some Middle Eastern countries,” he said via Viber.

He said the DoT should work closely with airlines and hotels to “customize attractive packages for South Koreans, whether leisure or business travelers.”

“Golf tourism promotion focused on the South Korean market should also be ramped up,” he added.

He said that the continued drop in South Korean tourists is a concern for the accommodation industry, as some so-called integrated resorts (casinos) “have proactively tapped the market at the start of the year.”

The US was the second-largest visitor market during the period with 360,799 travelers, or 17.14%. US traffic was up 9% from a year earlier.

Japan had 156,532 arrivals or a 7.44% share, Japanese visitors were up 18.14% from a year earlier.

Completing the top five source markets were Australia and Canada, accounting for 111,113 and 99,152 visitors, respectively. — Justine Irish D. Tabile