"We are continuously improving our presence here. Our most important market now is Korea. If not for this market, Cagayan de Oro would not have been a (tourism) market," Durano told major Korean tour and airline operators in a luncheon meeting yesterday.
According to Durano, from January to September this year, Korea ranked second only to the United States in tourist arrivals to the Philippines.
For this period, 424,494 American tourists arrived in the country while 406,480 Koreans visited the country, making up 19.5 percent of total foreign tourist arrivals in the Philippines.
Last year, 393,093 Korean tourists visited the country representing 16.4 percent of the market.
Durano stressed that the threat of terrorism has not deterred Koreans from visiting the Philippines.
"It (terrorism) is an overblown perception of reality. Wherever you go now in the world, there is a terror threat. But it is only in the Philippines where it is heightened. Being aggressive in the (tourism) market is the only way to counter this perception. The peace and order situation in the country has been better. We have a stable political and economic situation," Durano said.
Durano credits the success of the Navy’s Task Force Stingray in keeping the country’s beaches safe for foreign tourists.
"There has been no incidents for the past three years because of Task Force Stingray," he said.
Durano is in Korea to lead the Department of Tourism’s (DOT) "Philippine Hotels and Resorts Roadshow," which is being held in partnership with Philippine Airlines.
The sales mission started last Nov. 5 and ends on Nov. 11. Covered by the roadshow were the cities of Busan, Daegu and Seoul.
Durano added that there has been a double-digit growth in Korean tourist arrivals in the Philippines since 2004.
The DOT is currently developing eight anchor destinations in the Philippines for Korean tourists under the theme "Philippines… More Than You Can Imagine!" These destinations are Metro Manila, Laoag, Vigan/Baguio/Banaue, Subic/Clark, Palawan, Boracay, Cebu/Bohol, Camiguin and Davao.
The targets of this marketing campaign are family vacationers, students, honeymooners, and special interest groups such as convention delegates.
Meanwhile, Durano announced yesterday the posting of a permanent tourism attaché to Korea as part of its aggressive tourism marketing plan.
DOT Team Korea head Maricon Ebron will be permanently assigned here to address the concerns of the Korean tourism market.
"We will make sure that we have an official presence in Korea, especially with the increase in traffic… At the rate Korean tourists are flocking (to) the country, there is a need to have a tourism attaché," he said. — Mike Frialde