Resurgence of visitors from EU seen

The Department of Tourism expects a significant increase in tourist arrivals from Europe this year, given the lifting of the ban on local carriers to fly there, and on the increasing attractiveness of the Philippines as a tourist destination for Europeans.

“We’re looking to target most of the EU countries. Germany and the United Kingdom are already in our Top 10 [source countries]. We’re hoping to see an increase in arrivals from France and Spain, where we have special marketing efforts, as well as from the Scandinavian countries,” Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr. said Friday last week.

Over 376,000 Europeans reportedly visited the country in 2013, making the European Union the fifth largest source of tourists to the Philippines, next to South Korea, the United States, Japan and China.

According to the European Union Delegation to the Philippines, the Philippines remains an attractive destination for the EU. Citing a recent Euro-barometer survey, it said that half of EU citizens prefer to spend their holidays by the sea in a sunny location, while three in 10 people said that nature (mountains, landscapes, among others) was one of the main reasons they went on holiday in 2013.

“The Philippines offers these elements in abundance. According to the same data, a fifth of the EU citizens took a holiday in a country outside Europe in 2013. This was an increase from previous years and suggests that tourists from the EU are open to traveling further afield and therefore would be open to visiting the Philippines on a holiday,” the EU statement further read.

The European Union and the Philippines have long recognized the value of the growing tourism industry and have since worked together to maximize potentials.

In 2012, the European Union and the Philippines signed an agreement that included cooperation on tourism, which included an exchange of information and tourism best practices, collaboration on developing sustainable tourism and eco-tourism, technical assistance, improved training, and development of new technologies.

Meanwhile, Jimenez also disclosed that foreign tourist arrivals in the first quarter of 2014 showed an increase compared to the previous year.

He, however, declined to cite numbers, which are still being finalized.

The tourism chief was also bullish that the country would realize the targets it had set regarding tourist arrivals and tourism receipts.

The tourism agency expects to welcome at least 10 million visitors by 2016.