Chinese tourist arrivals up in 2018

CEBU, Philippines — As Chinese visitors are keeping up with Koreans as among the top tourist sources for Cebu, the China market seems to show more growth this year.

Thanks to more existing — and upcoming — direct connections from Cebu to various Chinese cities.

According to Ray Huang, Cebu general manager of China Eastern Airlines, one of Chinese airlines operating in Cebu, the tourism exchange between China and the Philippines has benefited so much from their warming relations. 

"In recent years, friendly exchanges between China and the Philippines have become increasingly frequent," the airline official told The FREEMAN.

"Bilateral trade and the number of Chinese tourists visiting the Philippines have been increasing quite a lot," Huang said.

In the first quarter of 2018, he noted the total number of Chinese tourists visiting the Philippines has reached 370,000, making it the second largest source of tourists to the Philippines.

The number of Chinese tourists who visited the Central Visayas region, where Cebu is a tourist Cebu, in 2017 rose to 429,306 from 244,925 in 2016 and 128,356 in 2015.

The 2017 Chinese tourist count posted a 75.28 percent increase compared to 2016.

Chinese arrivals were seen to increase or have increased further in 2018.

"The Philippines' favorite destinations for Chinese tourists are Boracay, Cebu and Bohol," he said.

"The increasing number of routes and flights of China Eastern Airlines have greatly facilitated the travel and business of Chinese tourists coming to the Philippines," he added.

China Eastern operates a direct route from Cebu to Shanghai, China, which it started in October 2017.

"And from January 2018, we have started to offer daily flight service," he said.