THE country received its 8-millionth international tourist at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia), just as Typhoon Ursula left a trail of destruction in many parts in the Visayas region — the location of a number of key tourism destinations.
Yachiyo Imamoto, from Yokohama, Japan, arrived in the country on Thursday at 1:35 pm, with her husband Tamio via All Nippon Airways NH 869, and were personally welcomed by the Department of Tourism (DOT), in simple rites.
The couple will receive a free hotel and tour package among destinations listed by the DOT.
Not a stranger to the Philippines, Yachiyo, 71, is a beauty product dealer, who has already visited the country seven times before to visit her foster family, who they also host, in exchange, in Japan.
“We are thankful to be chosen for this event. This our eighth visit here and we always visit our close friends in the Philippines,” she said.
She and her husband love the beach and have been to popular destinations like Cebu and Palawan. They will tour surfing capital Baler, Aurora this time around.
“The Filipinos are very hospitable,” said Yachiyo’s husband, Tamio. “I also keep coming back for the mangoes…masarap (It’s delicious)!” he enthused.
While the DOT is no longer expected to hit its 8.2-million foreign visitor target for 2019, the 8-million visitor is still an important landmark in the country’s tourism history.
In an interview with the BusinessMirror, Tourism Congress of the Philippines President Jose C. Clemente III said, “We welcome our 8 millionth visitor to the Philippines this year, which marks the highest number of tourist arrivals in our history. This is a significant milestone which we hope to further build on in the coming years.”
He added, “All signs are there that the interest in the Philippines continues to be strong and we look forward to hitting another record in 2020.” Under the government’s National Tourism Development Plan for 2016-2022, the DOT is targetting to attract 9.2 inbound tourists in 2020.
As president of the pioneering Rajah Tours Philippines, Clemente attended several major travel fairs and tourism selling missions this year including the ITB Berlin, Arabian Travel Mart in Dubai, IBTM Americas in Mexico, and the World Travel Mart in London, where he has reported a substantial rise in interest in the Philippines from foreign buyers.
In an news statement, Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat, said of the newly arrived tourist couple from Japan, “The DOT wishes for a fun-filled stay here for Yachiyo and for every tourist of the country thereafter especially this holiday season.”
She added, “The launching of the refreshed ‘It’s More Fun in the Philippines’ branding campaign, the reopening of Boracay, sustainable tourism advocacy efforts, improved air connectivity, hosting of big ticket tourism events, intensified digital and online marketing, mainstreaming of different tourism product portfolios including culinary tourism and farm tourism, healthy private-public partnerships, international accolades and recognitions — all helped the industry in breaching the country’s historic eight millionth mark.”
Meanwhile, the DOT is still trying to gather information about possible damage to resorts and other establishments in the aftermath of Typhoon Ursula.
DOT Undersecretary for Tourism Regulation, Coordination and Resource Generation Arturo P. Boncato Jr. said communications systems are still down in Boracay Island, which is one of the hardest hit tourism areas in the Visayas.
“While flights and boat trips have resumed, communication lines are still down,” he said, based on the update from the Boracay Inter-Agency Task Force officers. But, he added, “there are no casualties and major damage coming from various sources.”
In northern Cebu, which also lay in the path of Ursula, reports reaching DOT Regional Director for Central Visayas Shalimar Tamano indicated that only Malapascua Island, was affected by the typhoon. He said, some of the resorts saw their roofs blown off, while pump boats, which guests use for island tours, ran aground, as Ursula dumped its rains and blew its strong wind on Christmas Eve.
Malapascua is known for its white beach and attracts a number of foreign divers because of its colorful coral walls and coral gardens, with a number of dive sites receiving visits from manta rays and thresher sharks.
Image credits: DOT