Tourism revenues for the region grew 26% in the first half of the year compared to the same period in 2018.
Tanya Rabat-Tan, regional director of the Department of Tourism XI, said 2.2 million tourists visited teh region from January to June 2019. The total tourism receipts during that period was P27.3 billion, which is an increase from the P21.6 billion for the same period last year.
“The big factor of this growth in both tourist arrivals and tourism receipts is the launching of direct international flights to Davao City,” she said, during the DOT-Davao’s Accomplishments and Updates presentation on Oct. 7 at the Seda Abreeza Hotel.
She said road shows and travel missions are already set to promote Davao Region and Mindanao to international markets where Davao has direct link and vice versa. This October or November, a roadshow is set in Manado, Indonesia, which is spearheaded by the Mindanao Development Authority and Department of Trade and Industry.
Rabat-Tan revealed that Davao City recorded the highest number of tourist arrivals with 1,267,799 combined foreign and domestic tourists. Foreign tourists are mainly from the United States, China, Japan, Korea, and United Kingdom.
“Tourists coming to Davao City are a mix of travel and leisure and business tourists,” she added.
