Tourist arrivals to RP drop

Tourist arrivals to RP drop

MANILA (AP): The number of tourists visiting the Philippines is declining because of continuing regional financial turmoil and the crippling of national carrier Philippine Airlines, the Department of Tourism said Thursday.

Visitor arrivals dropped to 2,149,357 in 1998, down 3.3 percent from the previous year, the tourism department said in a report.

The flow of tourists from East Asia slowed down in 1998, dropping by 16 percent to 816,449 visitors.

South Korean tourists showed the biggest decline, dropping about 52 percent to 81,000. The number from Taiwan also dropped, sliding 24.6 percent to 185,869, while arrivals from Japan went down 4 percent to 361,631.

Tourists from the Philippines' partners in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations also declined 11.7 percent to 137,030. Visitors from Australia also dropped by 8 percent, falling to 85,655.