Philippine tourist arrivals up nearly 12% in first half

Tourist arrivals in the Philippines were up 11.68 per cent year-on-year in the first six months, amid a stepped-up campaign to attract visitors, dpa cited the government as saying Friday. A total of 2.143 million visitors arrived from January to June, compared to 1.919 million in the first semester of last year, the Department of Tourism said. "We expect to see more tourists during the peak season before the year ends," Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez said in a statement. Jimenez said he was confident the Philippines would reach its whole-year target of 4.6 million visitors amid reforms to improve entry procedures, transport, accommodation and recreation facilities. He attributed some of the increase to the country's new marketing campaign, launched in January under the slogan "It's more fun in the Philippines." The largest number of tourists came from South Korea, followed by, in order, the United States, Japan, China, Taiwan, Australia, Singapore, Canada, Hong Kong, Britain, Malaysia and Germany, the department said. Last year, a total of 3.7 million tourists visited the Philippines.