NAGA CITY, Philippines—The province of Camarines Sur (CamSur), the country’s third-ranked tourist destination in the first quarter of 2009, has dislodged Boracay and Cebu to emerge as the No. 1 tourist destination in the country in the first semester.
A report signed by Tourism Secretary Ace Durano, a copy of which was obtained by the Inquirer, said CamSur posted a hefty growth in both domestic and foreign tourist arrivals. Domestic tourist arrivals went up by 52 percent, while foreign tourist arrivals increased by 260 percent in the first six months of the year, according to the report.
As the most visited destination, 902,202 domestic and foreign tourists visited CamSur during the first half of 2009, the report said.
“The provincial government of Camarines Sur’s investment in a wakeboarding tourism product stimulated visitor volume,” according to Durano’s report.
It added that the success of CamSur’s initiative serves as a model for other local government units in harnessing their tourism potentials and putting into maximum use local resources to create more economic activities.
Cebu, the No. 1 tourist destination in the first quarter with 830,599 visitors, became the second most visited place in the country with 23 percent share of total tourist arrivals. But, the same report said, Cebu remains to be the top favorite of foreign tourists, with 321,116 foreign visitors in the first semester.
Durano credited the volume of foreign tourists arriving in Cebu to the expansion of air access from major tourist markets that now include new charter flights from Korean, Chinese and Taipei cities. Some of these are Busan, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Kaohsiung.
Boracay remains the third top tourist destination in the same period with 383,813 tourists visiting the island-resort.
On a positive note, Bicol, considered one of the poorest regions in the Philippines, has managed to place six tourist destinations in the top 16 destinations in the country.
With CamSur topping the list, Masbate, Camarines Norte, Legazpi, Catanduanes and Sorsogon were also among top tourist destinations.
Other places in the list of top 16 tourist destinations include Baguio City, Davao, Puerto Galera, Bohol, Negros Occidental and Oriental, Ilocos Norte and Puerto Princesa.
From January to June, the 16 top tourist destinations drew about four million tourists, of which 808,389 are foreign nationals and nearly three million are locals.
Durano sees continuing growth in the tourism industry with new offerings like the so-called enhanced tourist products from ecotourism, adventure sports and cultural packages.
He mentioned the growing popularity of adventure tourism as another tourist product that promotes local destinations and cultural exchanges.