Tourist arrivals hit 4 million in 9 months

By Margaux Ortiz
Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines–A total 4,024,067 foreign visitors, mostly tourists, visited the Philippines during the first nine months of year, six percent more than the 3,781,713 visitors who came to the country during the same period last year, the Bureau of Immigration said Wednesday.

“The influx of tourists could be partly attributed to the bureau’s recent reforms such as the lifting of restrictions on the length of stay of foreign visitors in the country,” Immigration Commissioner Marcelino Libanan said in a statement.

Libanan explained that unlike before when foreign tourists and businessmen were allowed a maximum stay of one year in the country, they can now extend their stay up to two years and even longer “if the bureau finds that their reasons for doing so are meritorious.”

BI statistics showed that Americans, numbering 466,086, topped the list of foreigners who arrived during the nine-month period up to the end of September. They were followed by Koreans, 330,154; Japanese, 261,823; and Chinese, 136,223.

Also included in the list were Britons, Taiwanese, Australians, Canadians, Singaporeans, and Germans, Libanan said.

“That more and more foreigners are entering our country indicates that the Philippines is fast emerging as a favored destination for both foreign tourists and businessmen,” the immigration chief said.

He added that the continued influx of foreigners should dispel doubts about the government’s ability to attract foreign visitors and investors.

“Foreign businessmen are coming here because our economic fundamentals are sound and despite the assertions of government critics that our government is facing a political crisis, the confidence of foreign investors in our economy remains very strong,” Libanan said.

Records also showed that more than 1.13 million of the foreigners who arrived were tourists while 431,236 were “balikbayans” or Filipino immigrants who acquired foreign citizenship.

The rest were holders of various immigrant and non-immigrant visas such as permanent residents, expatriates, investors, retirees, returning residents, students, and those married to Filipinos, Libanan said.

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