AFTER ranking as the second most visited destination in the country in the second quarter this year, Cebu regained the lead position in the next three months.
In the third quarter, the province received 566,278 foreign and domestic tourists, which is 239,451 more than the number posted by Camarines Sur, the most visited destination in the previous quarter.
The Department of Tourism (DOT) attributed this increase to the opening of new tourism destinations, products and facilities.
The agency also cited increased flight frequencies of major airlines from Manila and other islands in the Visayas and Mindanao to Cebu and the expansion in air access to major tourist markets, including China.
DOT records show that Cebu has the highest number of domestic and foreign visitors in the third quarter this year. Within the period, the province received 163,175 foreign tourists and 403,103 domestic tourists.
Camarines Sur, which went from first in the second quarter to second in the following quarter, recorded 59,433 foreign and 267,394 domestic tourists.
Cebu’s total visitors from January to September reached 1.24 million, reflecting a 1.8 percent increase from 1.21 million visitors in the first nine months last year.
On the other hand, the total number of tourist arrivals for Camarines Sur from January to September is 1.3 million, which shows a 124.6 percent increase from 547,194 visitors in the same period last year.
The DOT attributed this to Camarines Sur’s major events such as the International Kite Boarding Competition, World Wakeboarding Competition, Ironman Run and the International Dragon Boat Competition.
The other most visited destinations in the Philippines within the first nine months of the year were Boracay (558,401 visitors), Baguio City (530,706 visitors), Davao City (514,611 visitors), National Capital Region (436,558 visitors), Zambales (246,429 visitors), Bohol (238,745 visitors), Oriental Mindoro (215,755 visitors), and Palawan (195,134 visitors).
During the first nine months this year, the number of domestic tourists increased by 21 percent to 6.5 million, while foreign arrivals increased by 2.7 percent to 1.5 million.
“This performance positioned the tourism industry for greater growth in the fourth quarter,” said the DOT in a statement.
The DOT is seeing a brighter year ahead, especially after the Philippines was recently included in National Geographic’s list of 25 Best New Trips for 2010.
The government agency also cited the World Travel Market’s tourism barometer, which showed international tourists arrivals to have declined in all world regions in the first eight months of 2009. The same report, however, also shows that Asia and the Pacific showed “the clearest signs of improvement with growth already positive.”
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