Manama: Close to 39,000 people from Saudi Arabia visited the Philippines in 2013, making the kingdom the largest visitor market from the Middle East to the Far East country.
The 38,969 figure of visitors last year make Saudi Arabia the 18thworldwide for visitor numbers to the Philippines.
“Saudi Arabia is an emerging market that both the Department of Tourism and the Philippine tourism industry are eagerly looking to jointly develop,” Raymund Glen Agustin, Chief, Russia, India and the Middle East Market Development Group, Philippine Department of Tourism, said.
“Following a previous mission to the kingdom in December last year, we were keen to follow up quickly with another meaningful visit to keep the momentum running, demonstrating our commitment to the Saudi Arabian market,” he said in a statement emailed to Gulf News.
The Philippine Department of Tourism has identified Saudi Arabia as a priority outbound market for development, especially with the 30 per cent increase in the number of visitors compared with the previous year.
In 2013 Saudi Arabia was ranked as the 18th-largest market worldwide for visitor numbers to the Philippines.
Tourism officials said that 2014 results also bode well for Saudi Arabia, with arrival numbers from the kingdom in January showing a 13% increase compared with the visitor number experienced in January in 2013.
The propensity for further increase also remains strong following a plan for increased awareness and promotional campaigns to be held within Saudi Arabia throughout the year.
Visa-free entry
Nationals from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), an alliance of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, travelling to the Philippines do not need an entry visa for a visit of 30 days or less.
A Philippine delegation is attending the Riyadh Travel Fair on April 15 – 18 to promote the Philippines as an ideal holiday destination for families seeking urban lifestyle, shopping, beaches and luxury resort experiences.
The Philippines pavilion is also providing information to travel industry professionals and people interested in learning more of what the destination has to offer in terms of luxury and family accommodation, attractions, theme parks, shopping opportunities, and nature adventures.
“We hope to see as many Saudi travel professionals and travel enthusiasts as possible at the Riyadh Travel Fair, and then we hope to see them again later in the year in the Philippines,” Agustin said.
“For those who cannot visit us, we hope that they will join us on Facebook and Twitter which we will be launching next month in Arabic and English especially for the Middle East,” he said.
The fair is open to both travel and tourism professionals as well as the general public keen to discover more about exciting and exotic travel destinations.
By using the Riyadh Travel Fair platform, the Philippine delegation that includes members from the Philippine Department of Tourism, Cebu Pacific Airlines and Shangri-La Hotels, hope to outreach to Saudi nationals and residents and provide them with detailed information on travel to the Philippines, attractions that the destination has to offer, as well as answer any questions visitors may have.
Rising tourism numbers
According to the Department of Tourism (DOT), 4.68 million tourists visited the Philippines in 2013, a 9.56 per cent over the previous year.
The department said that monthly visitor count reached an "all-time high" or more than 400,000 during the months of January, February, March, July, and December.
Total revenues from foreign tourists went up by 15.1 percent to $4.4 billion while the average daily expenditure of foreign tourists increased by 8.7 per cent to $101.12.
South Korea, the United States, Japan, China and Australia were the top five sources of tourists in 2013.
