TOURIST INFLUX. Tourist arrivals in Negros Oriental has spiked by as much as 13.02 percent for the first eight months of this year compared to the same period last year. Chinese nationals topped the list of foreign visitors for this year, according to the Provincial Tourism Office. (Photo by Judy Flores Partlow)
DUMAGUETE CITY - The number of tourist arrivals in Negros Oriental for the first eight months of this year is a 13.02-percent increase compared to the same period last year.
Official data from the Provincial Tourism Office (PTO) on Tuesday showed that from January to August this year, a total of 587,886 domestic and foreign tourists were recorded in the province, with 41,998 comprised of foreigners.
For the same period in 2018, the PTO reported total tourist arrivals of 520,153, or a difference of 67,733.
Of the number of foreign visitors coming to Dumaguete and other parts of the province, Chinese tourists topped the list for this year with a total of 11,005.
Trailing China were the United States with 9,896 tourists; Korea, 6,135; Japan, 4,247; Canada, 2,543; France, 2,216; Germany, 1,839; Hong Kong, 1,481; Australia, 1,428; and the United Kingdom, with 1,208 tourists.
Meanwhile, a PTO comparative report of the Chinese market of tourist arrivals showed a decline over the last three years.
From a high in 2017 of 45,542 Chinese tourists coming to Negros Oriental from January to August, the numbers dropped to 19,561 in 2018, and to 11,005 in 2019.
This represents a 57.05-percent decrease in Chinese tourists between 2018 and 2017.
The PTO is optimistic that more Chinese tourists will still come this December as the peak season is during the months of November to May. (PNA)
