Tourist arrivals hits 3.2M, new top destinations named

October 10, 2013 (updated)

Beautiful rock walls carved by wind and sea adorn some sides of Apo Island in Negros Oriental. Despite monstrous waves, this island is visited by many local and foreign tourists for its underwater wealth of fish and sea turtles. (Cheryl Baldicantos)

The country has breached its 3 million tourist arrivals for the first eight months of the year, the Department of Tourism (DOT) said Thursday, adding that this is likely to climb as 10 new emerging tourist spots have been named.

Based on DOT’s data, there were 3.2 million foreign visitors for this year’s January to August period.

DOT, for this year, has set the target to 5 million tourist arrivals.

Meanwhile, the 10 new Philippine Gems or the next mainstream destinations in the country, which were chosen through an online voting, are Batanes, Apo Island in Negros Oriental, Panglao Island in Central Visayas, Danjugan Island of Negros Occidental, Mt. Kanlaon in Negros, Biri Island Rock Formation in Northern Samar, Caramoan in Camarines Sur, Tubbataha Reef in Palawan, Lake Sebu in South Cotabato, and Calaguas Island in Camarines Norte.

The newest Philippine Gems were recognized by Isla Lipana & Co. in partnership with the DOT’s Tourism Promotions Board (TPB).

“The search for the ten Philippine Gems envisions the upholding of both domestic and foreign tourism that would hopefully encourage business investments. The Philippine Gems steer awareness and appreciation for the country’s pristine and natural sites, even the underdeveloped ones. In our modest way, we aim for these places to gain local and international attention, and in due course, greater economic activity,” Isla Lipana & Co. Chairman and Senior Partner Atty. Alexander Cabrera said.

Now that the 10 Philippine Gems are named, Cabrera said that they will turn over the project to DoT, who will coordinate with the local government units to spur and boost the development in the areas.

The recognition of the newest Philippine Gems, Cabrera said, aims to arm the local government on how to preserve the place and promote sustainable growth and development through showcasing the country’s good side to the world.

“This (project) is very timely. The Department of Transportation and Communications, aside from the PPP projects, is also upgrading the Tacloban Airport, which is connected to one of the newest Philippine Gems. So we are on the right track and we are very timely. Hopefully we will see the fruits of our projects,” Public-Private Partnership (PPP) program Executive Director Cosette Canilao said. — (Nicky de Guzman)

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