Rising arrivals from China ‘bode well for Cebu stakeholders’

THE Department of Tourism (DOT) 7 looks forward to the return of Chinese tourists to the country, following the rapid growth of China’s outbound tourism and improving tourism relations between the two countries.

Last Dec. 11, the DOT conducted the “Meet China: Chinese Tourist Service Matching Workshop” here to educate Philippine tourism stakeholders and the travel trade sector on the latest developments in China’s travel market.

It conducted the event through its attachè office in Beijing, China together with the Philippine Embassy in China and the Asean-China Center.

China’s Guillin Tourism University and the Asean-China Center (ACC) discussed trends and changes in China’s outbound tourism, market demand, and likely future developments.

“Efforts are in place by both countries to grow tourism arrivals. The objective of the workshop is to grow our arrivals from China and make Cebu their gateway to other neighboring islands in the Visayas and Mindanao,” said DOT 7 Director Rowena Montecillo.

China is the country’s fourth largest tourism source market. According to official tourism statistics, 373,795 Chinese tourists came to Philippines from January to September this year. They composed 9.38 percent of the total inbound traffic.

In Central Visayas, China posted the highest growth at 58.63 percent during the first 10 months of the year. Its arrivals grew from 59,559 during the same period in 2014 to 94,476 this year. China is also the region’s fourth top tourism source market, after US, Japan and Korea.

According to Montecillo, the increase in Chinese arrivals is a welcome development in the midst of the travel ban advisories and political tension between the Chinese and Philippine Governments.

Asked if there are specific requirements the Chinese travelers look for, Montecillo said they are more into family-friendly facilities and activities. They also enjoy activities like snorkeling, islandhopping, and aqua sports.

September data obtained from the DOT show that China is also the country’s biggest contributor in terms of tourism receipts, at P1.048 billion.

Aside from attracting the leisure travelers, the workshop also opened opportunities for Cebu to promote English as a Second Language classes among Chinese students, starting with China’s Guillin Tourism University.

“We are looking into this opportunity. Perhaps we can work together for a student exchange program between Guillin University and our universities here,” Montecillo said.

China’s Guillin University has a population of 10,000 students.

As a follow-up to the Meet China workshop, DOT 7 suggested that media and travel agents from China take a familiarization tour of Cebu to help identify the facilities and tourist attractions that may appeal to China’s travelers.

“But for now we will relay to DOT Secretary (Ramon) Jimenez (Jr.) the inputs from the workshop. We hope that by the first quarter of next year, we will be able to come up with concrete steps to translate all these into tourist arrivals,” said Montecillo.

In a statement, DOT Director of Tourism Standards and Regulation Office Maria Bueno said China has been the largest outbound tourism market for three years.

ACC Director of Education, Culture, and Tourism Division Tri Purnajaya expressed his confidence that the tourism workshop co-hosted by ACC and the Philippine tourism department will deepen the Philippine tourism industry’s understanding of the Chinese market, which would help them provide better services to guests.

We hope that by the first quarter of next year, we will be able to come up with concrete steps to translate all these (activities) into tourist arrivals

– DOT 7 Director Rowena Montecillo