Tourist arrivals down 8.32%; Government prepares counter measures

With fewer tourists coming to the country, the Department of Tourism has prepared counter-measures to shield the local tourism industry from any adverse effects of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on New York and Washington.

Records at the Department of Tourism (DOT) showed an 8.32 percent drop in the number of foreign visitors to the country in the past seven months, as compared to last year’s figures.

Tourism Undersecretary Rolando Reyes said yesterday the counter-measures are aimed at offsetting the expected drop in foreign tourists coming to the Philippines, particularly those from the United States.

"The DOT is now reviewing (its) marketing thrusts," he said. "One of the possible measures (to be adopted) is to focus the promotional campaign on domestic tourism."

To promote domestic tourism, the government in coordination with the private sector will launch the three-day 12th Philippine Travel Mart, starting Nov. 23, he said.

Based on tourism department figures, 1,127,143 international arrivals were recorded between January and July this year or 102,253 fewer than the 1,229,396 foreign tourists who came to the country during the same period last year.

The slowdown was attributed to the highly publicized kidnappings and other peace and order problems in the South, as well as the failed power grab last May.

Of the number of visitors this year, those from East Asia registered the biggest number at 466,824, but was 0.70 percent short of last year’s recorded number of tourists from the same region.

Visitors from North America, the country’s second biggest tourism market, numbered 301,042 in the past seven months, which dropped significantly by 9.23 percent from last year’s 333,874 tourist arrivals.

International arrivals from Asia also posted a 5.70 percent fall, while tourists from Western Europe declined by 22.30 percent.

The number of Northern European tourists went down by 16.34 percent and those from the Asia Pacific by 8.21 percent.