MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Tourism (DOT) said, this is the first time in the history of the Philippine tourism that the 500,000 mark has been breached in the first month of the year.
Dot assistant secretary Rolando ‘Alan’ Canizal said tourist arrivals to the Philippines reached 542,258 visitors or a 13.17 percent growth versus the 479,149 for the same month last year.
Canizal said the department meanwhile expects the strong performance of the industry to continue this year as the industry is gearing for aggressive marketing activities and international events.
He said that these events include high-profile events such as the holding of the ASEAN tourism forum in January and increasing awareness of the country’s product offerings.
