VISITOR arrivals from South Korea have been slowing down, causing the Department of Tourism (DOT) some concern it may miss its 7.4-million foreign tourists target this year. Officials traced the slowdown partly to the closure of Boracay, a favorite of Koreans, and the unresolved killings of South Koreans, including those allegedly by rogue cops.
While South Korea continues to dominate the top source markets of foreign tourists in the Philippines, its overall share in arrivals has been slackening. From January to August this year, arrivals from South Korea dipped by 0.91 percent to 1.06 million. This represented a 21.84 percent share to total arrivals, down from an almost 24 percent share in the eight-month period in 2017.
Asked if the decrease was just a temporary blip, DOT Undersecretary for Tourism Development Planning Benito C. Bengzon Jr. said in a text message: “It may be noted that in August of 2017 alone, there were 31,025 visitors from Korea who arrived via the Kalibo International Airport. Needless to say, Boracay is indisputably a favorite among our Korean visitors. And to be fair, the market is actually performing better than our forecast considering the temporary closure of the island to facilitate its rehabilitation.”
He stressed, “In fact, from May to August 2018, Korea contributed an additional 67,739 arrivals from the demand to Boracay to other destinations, such as Cebu, Bohol, Palawan, Manila and Clark.”
He expressed optimism that with the scheduled reopening of a “better” Boracay on October 26, “we expect an influx not just of visitors from Korea but other sources markets, as well.”
However, the sluggishness of the South Korean market is more glaring on a month-on-month basis; since March 2018, arrivals from South Korea were either stagnant, or recorded decreases, with the largest fall recorded in August alone at 13.94 percent to 122,095, compared to the same month in 2017.
After a huge 28.4-percent growth in arrivals to 198,145 in January 2018, arrivals from South Korea soon became tepid; in February, arrivals were only some 4 percent to 156,555. The only other increase in arrivals was recorded in June at 1.55 percent to 110,135.The rest of the year, decreases were registered, starting in March, down 9.9 percent to 122,387; April, down 1.8 percent to 114,973; May, down 11.81 percent to 113,488; and July 2018, down 8.02 percent to 121,544.
In a separate interview, Jose Clemente III, president of the Tourism Congress of the Philippines, said Korean travel agencies and tour operators he recently met with informed him “the killings of Korean citizens are a cause for concern.” The most infamous case was the killing of businessman Jee Ick Joo by rogue elements of the Philippine National Police (PNP), which continues to be top of mind among Koreans.
According to data from the Seoul government, 48 South Koreans have been killed in the Philippines from 2012 to 2016. In May 2018 South Korean Ambassador Han Dong-man personally brought the matter of two unsolved killings of South Korean citizens to the attention of the PNP. They were businessman Shang-ho Lee in Mandaue City, Cebu, and tourist Kim Woon-oh in Caloocan.
Last July, unidentified assailants shot another South Korean tourist as he was getting into a taxi. The tourist was unidentified as per South Korean news reports.
Another issue that the Korean tour operators brought up was the closure of Boracay Island, said Clemente. He said some were not able to get back refunds from their canceled trips and bookings. Among the tour operators he met were HanaTour, the largest travel company in South Korea; IRC; Golf & Sky; Skyway Air; and the Cebu Direct Club.
In 2017 South Korean arrivals on Boracay Island reached 356,644, up 11.1 percent from 2016. The market, however, was edged out by Chinese tourists for the top spot. In the first quarter of 2018, Korean tourists reached 122,129, up 23.6 percent from the same period in 2017. It, likewise, came in second place to Chinese tourists for the reference period.
Still, the island paradise has been a favorite honeymoon destination for many South Koreans.
Despite the brave face put on by some DOT officials, Tourism Secretary Bernadette Fatima Romulo Puyat has admitted the slowdown in Korean arrivals could affect the agency’s visitor arrivals target for 2018, which stands at 7.4 million.
She told the BusinessMirror she will be “visiting Korea in November” to touch base with the latter’s travel and tourism industry and make a pitch for the Philippines.
Based on the recommendations of his Korean counterparts, Clemente, for his part, said the government could probably beef up the presence of the police in well-known tourist areas, and assign more tourist cops. He added that the DOT can also tap Korean celebrities to endorse the country. A similar strategy was recently employed by the DOT in Japan.
Clemente, who is also president of Rajah Tours, one of the pioneering inbound tour operators in the country, also suggested the stronger promotion of the Philippines as a location for Korean telenovelas.