South Korea still top spending tourism market

Nearly a third of the record $5 billion (P227.62 billion) the Philippines earned from tourism activities in 2015 came from South Koreans, data from the Department of Tourism (DOT) released on Thursday showed.

South Koreans, whose 1.34 million nationals coughed up a total amount of P66.55 billion.

South Korean tourists are the top visitors to the country since 2012, while American visitors came in second with P42.31 billion, followed by Australians with P12.83 billion, overtaking Japan which provided P12.20 billion to take the fourth spot.

Rounding out the top five spending markets is China with visitor spending of P10.19 billion.

Among the top 12 markets of the country, visitors from Canada recorded the highest per capita spending for 2015 with P65,537 while visitors from Germany provided the second biggest per capita spending of P58,308.29.

The US ranked third with per capita spending of P55,808.05.

Other top markets with high per capita spending include United Kingdom with P54,912.69; Australia with P53,846.21; and South Korea with P48,973.54.

The foreign tourists' average length of stay in the country is around 10 nights.

The DOT billed 2015 as the Visit the Philippines Year (VPY), that saw the country hosting major international events such as the visit of Pope Francis, Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation 2015 meetings, Madrid Fusion Manila and Iron Man challenge, among others.

“Our VPY 2015 campaign and destination-based marketing materials helped in increasing awareness and generating a positive performance, while our market development efforts served to ensure that this growth will be sustained year on year," said Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr.

More than the industry’s performance in terms of numbers, Jimenez took pride in the positive contributions of tourism, "from the protection of the environment to the emergence of local businesses, the development of infrastructure, and the preservation of our cultural heritage."

Tourism employment, for one, is estimated at P4.99 million with a share of 12.7 percent in the total job market.

“The past five years up to the present has been a story of how the DOT, together with its attached agencies, has achieved an enhanced orientation as the country’s primary marketing and selling unit," Jimenez said.

"Together with the support of both public and private sectors, we were able to transform tourism into a national industry. Indeed, it has been a journey of an entire country working together to make tourism the people’s business,” he added. — BAP, GMA News