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Kamis, 25 Desember 2008

More Chinese drawn to RP


MANILA, Philippines--Interest in the Philippines as a tourist destination among Chinese is growing, according to the Department of Tourism

In a recent statement, the Department of Tourism said the Philippines ranked eighth among the destinations searched by Chinese in the China-based search engine Baidu.

Japan is no. 1 followed by South Korea, Thailand, Singapore, Australia, Bali, Indonesia, Malaysia, North Korea, and France.

Tourism Secretary Ace Durano said that interest among Chinese travelers, especially those from Shanghai, was shown by an increase in the number of Chinese tourists in the Philippines.

Citing a report from the Shanghai Tourism Board, Durano also noted that there was “a 57-percent increase in tour group movement from Shanghai to the Philippines. Shanghai Post also complimented the country for getting the biggest increase in visa collections, with a 65-percent year-to-date growth rate recorded from January to October of 2008."

"On top of this report, we have several other developments in progress for China. It is a strong market which will augment the slowdown in other regions,” Durano added.

The DOT expects fewer tourist arrivals from the United States and European countries in 2009 because of the global economic downturn that has affected their economies.

The Chinese market has been the fourth top tourism source, posting a 5.4-percent increase in tourist arrivals from January-October 2008, the DOT said.

The Philippine government anticipates more Chinese tourists to come to the Philippines in 2009.

According to Tourism Undersecretary Eduardo Jarque Jr., new flights between Manila and other Chinese cities next year will encourage mainland Chinese residents to check out and visit the Philippines.

"Three additional flights to Cebu and the Hangzhou-Manila charter will soon be offered regularly. Charters which include two to three flights a week for Hangzhou-Manila, Hangzhou-Cebu, and Shanghai to Kalibo are now in negotiations to accommodate the increase in traffic during the Chinese New Year,” Jarque said.