Foreign tourist arrivals hit 4.3 M last year

ALAMINOS CITY, Philippines– Foreign tourist arrivals in the country reached 4.3 million last year, surpassing the three million initially projected, President Aquino said before the weekend.

In his visit here on Friday with local leaders, Aquino also said that the country registered 37
million domestic tourists, surpassing the 35 million expected.

The President hopes that foreign and domestic tourism will reach 10 million and 65 million by 2016, respectively.

Aquino also noted that several ongoing projects in the province - such as the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEX), the rehabilitation of Pangasinan-Zambales Road, Macidem Small Reservoir Irrigation Projects, and the Regional Mariculture Technology Development Center - would help boost tourism and development of agriculture in Pangasinan and nearby provinces.

When finished, TPLEX will cut travel time from Tarlac to La Union from four hours to one hour, and it will serve more than 20,000 motorists every day.

Aquino said irrigation projects underway in different parts of the country cost P150 million. In Pangasinan alone, 17 irrigation projects are in different stages of construction and these are expected to irrigate around 600 hectares of farmlands in 16 towns.

He also expressed confidence that with improved roads in Alaminos, more tourists will be interested to visit the city’s prime summer destination: the Hundred Islands plus the forthcoming Galila Hundred Islands Festival to be celebrated next week.

Alaminos City Mayor Hernani Braganza said during the President’s visit that the Hundred Islands was first known among tourists than the famous Boracay. But politics, he said, marred the development of the Hundred Islands.

Aquino also visited Dagupan City on Friday to inaugurate the modern emergency room at the Region 1 Medical Center. He was joined by Reps. Ma. Rachel Arenas and Gina de Venecia of Pangasinan third and fourth districts, respectively; former House speaker Jose de Venecia Jr.; Dagupan City Vice Mayor Belen Fernandez; and Rosemarie Arenas.