As the country’s tourism industry continues to bounce back from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Department of Tourism (DOT) bared that the Philippines has so far recorded more than 1.5 million tourist arrivals with Korea emerging as its top source market. 

(File photo)

Based on the data of the tourism department, a total of 1,577,349 tourist arrivals have been recorded from January to April 13. Of the said number, 390,857 tourists were from South Korea.

"The good news is that as of today, we have over 1.5 million tourist arrivals to the Philippines and our number one top source market are the Koreans," Tourism Secretary Christina G. Frasco said in a statement released on Friday, April 14.

"So we're very grateful to our friends from Korea for continuing to show their love for the Philippines as they have come back in droves," she added.

According to the DOT, Korea was the top source of visitors prior to the Covid-19 pandemic with 1,989,322 visitors or 24.08 percent of all visitors to the Philippines in 2019.

“As with other tourism source markets of the Philippines, arrivals from Korea declined drastically during the pandemic, dropping to 338,877 and 6,456, for 2020 and 2021, respectively,” the DOT noted.

Frasco said Koreans are coming to the Philippines on a daily basis, stressing that the number of Korean tourists are increasing by the day.

"Last year, they were at number two because it is the United States that [provided] our number one top source market. But this year, the Koreans have reclaimed the number one spot and we send out the message to all our friends in Korea, that you are more than welcome to keep coming back again and again to Cebu, Bohol, Palawan, and the rest of our beautiful islands in the Philippines," she continued.

Through its office in Korea, DOT said it conducts marketing initiatives such as an online presentation to inform the Meetings, Incentives, Conventions, and Exhibitions (MICE) players in the Philippines about the Korean MICE market as well as participation in upcoming significant events such as business-to-business (B2B) fairs and a MICE roadshow in order to further increase the Korean tourism source market and visitor arrivals. 

The DOT chief noted the potential of many other places, like Bohol, in luring incentive visitors from Korea and other nations, while expressing optimism that the incentive travelers will be able to fully enjoy the beauty of Lapu-Lapu City and the province of Cebu.