Tourists spent P28.5B in 2017

Tourism receipts and visitor arrivals in Central Visayas posted a stellar performance last year.

Estimates from the Department of Tourism (DOT) 7 showed tourism receipts stood at P28.5 billion generated from the 6.9 million tourists that visited the region in 2017.

The domestic market, which contributed a strong four million arrivals gave an estimated P7.3-billion in revenues to the region while the 2.9 million foreign tourists infused an estimated P21.2 billion into the regional economy.

DOT 7 estimates that a local tourist spends P1,200 daily while a foreign tourist spends at least P4,867 daily.

Provinces

Cebu logged a total of 4,877,047 tourists, of which 2.3 million are foreign guests and 2.6 million are domestic tourists.

DOT 7 Director Shahlimar Tamano said the figures reflect a vibrant and exciting tourism industry and this healthy state is expected to continue this year and onwards.

Bohol welcomed 1.3 million tourists, followed by Negros Oriental with 869,774 arrivals and Siquijor with 96,788 arrivals.

The increase in tourism receipts was also boosted by more visitor arrivals from high-spending markets such as South Korea, China, Japan, United States and Taiwan.

Australia, Germany, France, United Kingdom and Canada, likewise, posted high arrivals last year. China and Taiwan posted the highest growth in arrivals at 75.28 percent and 69.75 percent, respectively.

China dislodged Japan as the second tourist source market for the region after Korea. Chinese arrivals to the region stood at 429,306 compared to Japanese arrivals at 408,466.

Looking forward

Cebu Alliance of Tour Operations Specialists (Catos) and Hotel, Resort and Restaurant Association of Cebu (HRRAC) reinforced DOT’s optimism for the tourism sector this year.

They expect a bullish growth in the months ahead, following the temporary closure of Boracay island, which could bring in more arrivals and revenues to Cebu.

“The performance of the industry shows that we have handled more tourists last year compared to 2016 amid the challenges we faced,” said Catos president Alice Queblatin, referring to the terrorist attack in Bohol in early 2017, which resulted in travel bans to Bohol and some parts of Cebu by foreign countries.

Carlo Suarez, president of Hotels, Resorts and Restaurant Association of Cebu, also expressed optimism that growth in arrivals will continue to rise on the back of the opening of new airports in Mactan and Panglao island this year, the rising number of direct flights from other countries and the rerouting of travels from Boracay to Cebu and the region’s neighboring islands.

“We are positive on the outcome for 2018. The industry is happy with the occupancy levels,” said Suarez.