DOT wooing Korean visitors as arrival numbers fall

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Tourism (DOT) is rolling out measures to reverse the decline in visitor arrivals from South Korea, previously the largest source of foreign tourists for the Philippines before being overtaken by the United States this year.

From January to May, arrivals from South Korea fell 9.56 percent to 501,789, placing the market behind the United States, which recorded 531,859 visitors during the same period.

This decline interrupted South Korea’s three-year run as the Philippines’ top source of inbound tourists and contrasted with growth recorded in several other key markets.

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READ: DOT: 1 in every 4 foreign tourists in PH from South Korea

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In an interview on Monday, Tourism Secretary Dita Angara-Mathay said the DOT, together with other government offices, was focusing on two factors behind the slowdown: security concerns and higher travel costs compared with competing Southeast Asian destinations.

READ: South Korea simplifies visa requirements for Filipinos

“Everything went up except for Korea,” Angara-Mathay said on the sidelines of the Hotel Sales and Marketing Association general membership meeting. “So, we have to think about a way to restore our numbers in Korea.”

To address security concerns, Angara-Mathay said the DOT was coordinating with Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla on a new mechanism that would deploy plainclothes security personnel to help protect foreign tourists.

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‘10 jewels’ plan

Without providing details, she said the initiative would form part of the government’s “10 jewels” security plan that would be piloted soon.

Another factor the DOT is assessing is whether rising travel costs are pushing Korean tourists toward alternative destinations such as Vietnam and Thailand.

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“Their numbers are high because they’re landlocked,” she said, referring to the ease of cross-border travel between neighboring countries. “Us, we’re archipelagic, that’s why, understandably, it’s more expensive.”

Angara-Mathay added the DOT would review its promotional efforts together with the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (Tieza).

“I’m going to meet with the Tieza people, because they’re the promotion arm, and we’re going to review what we are lacking and what we need to do,” she said.

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Apart from efforts to revive foreign arrivals, the DOT is increasingly leaning on domestic tourism to support industry growth this year. /cb