The six-month closure for rehabilitation of Boracay Island, the Philippine's prime tourist destination, proved to be a success. The island's ecosystem restored and the whole campaign drew attention to the Philippines as an environmentally conscious destination.
The closure did not produce any negative effect on the country's tourism industry at all with the Department of Tourism reporting a 7.68 percent increase of tourist arrivals in 2018 over 2017, setting a new record of 7.1 million international tourist arrivals, the "highest ever number" in the country's tourism industry.
More than that, closure of Boracay boosted tourism in other parts of the country with tourists turning their attention to Cebu or Siargao that both proved to be a great alternative to Boracay.
The positive trend for the country's tourism sector continues in 2019. The year-to-year number of overseas visitors during the first five months of 2019 showed a 9.76 percent growth. At the same time, the number of domestic tourists is also on the rise with even a more impressive increase of 14.1 percent (110 million people).
Tourism is an important component of the Philippines' economic growth. About 5.4 million people are employed in tourism. Last year, the contribution of the tourism industry into Gross Domestic Product reached 12.7 percent.
Philippines' Commitment to Sustainable Tourism Draws More Travellers
News in Asia
It's More Fun in the Philippines, the promotional slogan of the country says. Now it is given a deeper sense with the Philippines' focus on sustainable tourism that both attracts more tourists and helps protect amazing natural wonders of the archipelago.