DOT: More than 2.8M foreign tourists visited PHL from Jan to May

More than 2.8 million foreign tourists visited the Philippines during the first five months of the year, the Department of Tourism said on Wednesday.

In a news release, the DOT took note that the total number of international visitors, which amounted to 2,882,737, reflected an increase of 14.43 percent from the same period last year.

"[These] record-breaking numbers, which began during the Miss Universe month, clearly indicates a bright outlook for Philippine tourism," DOT chief Wanda Teo said.

"The DOT will continue to tap new and emerging markets including little known tourist destinations and sites which are priority growth areas for tourism development," Teo added.

MEDIA RELEASE: Burgeoning tourist arrivals bode tourism boom #ItsmorefuninthePhilippines #tourism #travel #Philippines pic.twitter.com/jEasu3CUHV

— Visit Philippines (@TourismPHL) July 12, 2017

According to the DOT, the month of January had the most arrivals of tourists with 631,639 while the month of April had the highest growth rate at 19.83 percent.

Korean tourists

Visitors from South Korea "remained the top market" with a total of 128,691 visitors from January to May.

In 2016, DOT records showed only a total of 94,736 arrivals during the same period.

Meanwhile, South Korea was followed by the United States with 83,056 arrivals, or an increase of 12.78 percent from the same period last year.

The agency also said improving relations between Manila and Beijing brought the number of Chinese tourists up to 73,649.

Beijing lifted the travel advisories to the Philippines after President Rodrigo Duterte visited China in October 2016.

Teo attributed the increase in arrivals of tourists to the "aggressive marketing efforts abroad and high-profile international events" such as Madrid Fusion Manila and the United Nations World Tourism Organization conference.

Teo expressed high hopes that the arrivals of tourists will continue and that they will break the last year's 5.9 million record. — MDM/BM, GMA News