Swine flu, crisis couldn’t keep tourists away

MANILA, Philippines—The Influenza A(H1N1) SCARE and the global financial crisis have had little adverse effect on local tourism as close to four million visitors trooped to the country’s tourist destinations in the first half of the year, the Department of Tourism (DoT) said Thursday.

The DoT’s first semester report said the 3.89 million tourists from January to June represented a 16.5-percent improvement over the same period last year.

Of the number, over 808,000 were foreign tourists. They were up from the 760,000 foreigners who visited the Philippines in the first semester of 2008.

The number of domestic tourists so far increased by 20 percent to 2.96 million, the DoT report said.

Tourism Secretary Ace Durano in the report said there was a drop in the number of foreign arrivals from certain markets because of the global financial downturn, but the overall picture bucked expectations.

The rise in tourist traffic, he said, could be attributed to the changing lifestyles of Filipinos.

“Likewise, the changing lifestyles and travel patterns of more Filipinos to spend their Holy Week, long weekends, and summer and holiday vacations in the various tourist areas in the country boosted tourist flow,” he said.

“Foreign arrivals also increased by 6 percent in the first half of the year despite a decrease of 6 percent in visitors to East Asia and the Pacific,” he said.

Durano was optimistic the growth would continue the rest of the year.

“As tourism facilities and products continue to expand, the DoT anticipates greater growth in tourist arrivals in key destinations towards the end of 2009,” he said.

The province of Camarines Sur, which is known for its beaches and surfing, was the top gainer. The province received 902,000 local and foreign visitors during the first semester, the DoT report said.

“The provincial government of Camarines Sur’s investment in a wake-boarding tourism product stimulated visitor volume while bolstering demand for more accommodations, tour services and transportation,” the report said.

Cebu was the second most visited destination, with 830,000 tourists.–Kristine L. Alave, Philippine Daily Inquirer