Chinese tourists coming back – DOT

MANILA, Philippines -  Chinese tourists have started returning to destinations in the Philippines, the Department of Tourism (DOT) reported yesterday.

Tourism Assistant Secretary and DOT spokesman Benito Bengzon said Chinese tourists are arriving on chartered flights after a minor slump in the past months.

“The charters loading
hundreds of Chinese tourists have started coming back since November after the slowdown in May,” Bengzon disclosed.

Most of the chartered flights from Shanghai, China directly land in Kalibo, Aklan on their way to Boracay, the favorite destination of the Chinese tourists.

Bengzon said that by January more chartered flights from Chengdu, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, and Nanjing are expected to land in Kalibo.

The number of Chinese tourist arrivals declined from May to July as a result of the territorial dispute between the Philippines and China over Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal in the West Philippine Sea.

Bengzon said China did not officially impose a travel ban to the Philippines, but there were reports that the Chinese government ordered travel agents to discourage travel to the Philippines.

“There is no written ban although we have heard news that nagtawag ang gobyerno nila (their government made calls). It is difficult to verify because unlike the black alert which was posted in the Hong Kong security bureau website,” Bengzon explained.

Bengzon said despite the slowdown in the arrival of Chinese visitors, the country still recorded positive arrivals from China that helped contribute to the huge growth rate in the Philippine economy in the first four months of the year.

“As of October, the running total is positive because January to April were very good months for inbound arrivals from China, in fact we are growing by 80 percent at that time,” he said.

Bengzon said the DOT would continue to lure Chinese tourists in the coming year by participating in major travel fairs in China.

“We will continue to organize familiarization tours for travel agents and media and we will continue to support the charter operators,” he added.