From January to March 2018 over 2 mln tourists arrived to the Philippines showing almost 15% increase compared to the first quarter of 2017. Slightly less than half of this number brought visitors from South Korea and China, the two most important markets for the Philippines, that also account for the highest per capita earnings in the industry. According to the last year United Nations World Tourism Organization's data, the Chinese travellers are the world's top money spenders.
Almost 300,000 visitors came from the Unites States and 200,000 – from Japan. Other nations which have shown high number of arrivals are Canada, Taiwan, the Uninetd Kingdom, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and India.
The expectations for the rest of the year, though, are not as bright with one of the most popular destinations in the country, Boracay island, closed for a half-year environmental rehabilitation resulting in almost 700,000 booking cancellations in anticipation of the closure.
Tourist Arrivals in the Philippines Hit Their Historic High
News in Asia
Though the number of tourists arrivals to the Philippines have risen in the first quarter of 2018, the full-year results may not be as stunning as the negative impact of Boracay's closure on tourist industry is obvious.