Tourist arrivals in RP rise by 13%

Tourist arrivals in RP rise by 13%

MANILA: Tourist arrivals in the Philippines rose by 13 percent in February compared to the same period last year, the government said on Friday.

The Department of Tourism said it recorded a total of 200,128 visitors in February, up from 177,104 arrivals in the same month last year.

The increase brought to 420,370 the number of tourists visiting the Philippines in the first two months of the year, a 9.2 percent increase from the 384,859 arrivals recorded in January-February 2004.

The government is hoping to attract some 2.5 million tourists this year amid stepped-up marketing campaigns and efforts to simplify visa requirements for visitors, especially from China. -- DPA