DOT reports 12.15% increase in foreign tourist arrivals for April 2019

International tourist arrivals in April 2019 reached 662,987, registering a 12.15 percent growth vis-a-vis 591,137 received last year, the Department of Tourism (DOT) reported. 

The top five markets with their respective volumes and growth rates are: China with 139,177 (+26.77%), Korea with 130,707 (+13.68%), USA with 87,710 (+2.5%), Japan with 57,724 (+17.75%) and Australia with 28,683 (+13.41%).

Meanwhile, foreign visitor count for January to April 2019 totaled 2,867,551, or an increase of 8.57 percent over 2,642,241 of the same period in 2018.

DOT Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat remarked, “With the heightened marketing initiatives with the private sector and travel trade counterparts in the various markets, improved connectivity arising from new flights, additional frequencies and expanded capacity brought about by new and upgraded airports, we anticipate more visitors to keep this upward trend sustained.”

"We also attribute increased travel movement and consumption to continued efforts in developing new and existing tourism circuits all over the country in pursuit of sustainable tourism.", she added.