The total number of foreign tourist arrivals in the Philippines in 2013 has climbed by 9.56% with South Koreans remaining on the top of the list the Dept. of Tourism (DOT) said Thursday. Although tourist arrivals last year rose to 4,681,307 from 4,272,811 the previous year the figure still fell short of the country's 5 million target. The month of February registered the highest growth rate for the year with 15.8% followed by the month of June with 13% and August with 13%. This resulted in a 15.1% higher revenue from inbound visitors to approx. $4.40 Billion or Php 186.15 Billion. South Koreans which remained on top of the list accounted for the 24.9% of the market share. This translate to 1.17 Million tourist arrivals, 13% higher from the previous year. United States clinched the 2nd place with 674,564 arrivals or 14.4% of the total share. Other top sources include: Japan with 433,705 arrivals; China with 426,352 arrivals; Australia with 213,032 arrivals; Singapore with 175,034 arrivals; Taiwan with 139,099 arrivals; Canada with 131,381 arrivals; Hong Kong with 126,008 arrivals; United Kingdom with 122,759 arrivals; Malaysia with 109,437 arrivals; and Germany with 70,949 arrivals. The average length of stay of visitors remained at 9.6 nights.The tourism chief said he is seeing "better opportunities for growth" and urged Pilipinos to appreciate and support the country's tourism.
