Camarines Sur now RP's top tourist destination

MANILA, Philippines - Move over Boracay.

After being featured in several reality shows abroad, Camarines Sur has apparently surpassed Boracay’s popularity and has become the country’s prime destination.

Data from the Department of Tourism (DOT) show that among the country’s tourist destinations, Camarines Sur got the most number of visitors aside from Cebu in 2009.

Based on the DOT data, Camarines Sur posted a total of 1,566,477 foreign and domestic visitors in 2009 as compared to Cebu’s 1.6 million tourists.

While Cebu recorded the biggest number of visitors last year, Camarines Sur posted the biggest growth of 117 percent in the number of tourists.

In 2008, Camarines Sur only generated 946,639 foreign and domestic tourists.

Boracay, meanwhile, got 721,024 visitors last year from 634,262 the previous year.

Local and international events such as the First Aqua Fest Celebrity Challenge, Ironman 70.3 Triathlon, International Dragon Boat Competition and Bagasbas Summer Surf boosted domestic visitors to Camarines Sur by 140 percent to 1.3 million, while foreign tourists went up by 56.1 percent.

Tourists from Australia and the United Kingdom substantially increased by 235 percent and 170 percent, respectively, as wakeboarding attracted group tours from these markets. 

The United States remained the major source market for the Bicol province with 14 percent share.

Metro Manila is the third most visited destination with a tourist volume of 1.4 million, accounting for 16 percent of the total tourist count.

According to DOT, the total tourist traffic in the country’s top 14 destinations reached 8.9 million in 2009. The figure was 14 percent higher than the previous year.

Twenty cruise ships docked in Manila in 2009. Arrivals from these cruise ships posted a 2.24 percent increase from 17,516 passenger-tourists in 2008 to 17,908 in 2009 with most visitors taking tours in Intramuros, Manila and Tagaytay City.

Tourism Secretary Joseph Ace Durano said this year, total tourist traffic in the top destinations is expected to grow by 15 percent as domestic travel continues to increase and international tourist markets recover from economic slack.