Philippines eyes one lakh tourists from India by December end

Philippines Tourism Department today said it expects one lakh tourists from India by the end of the calendar year as against about 70,000 during last year.
"We have been experiencing very good arrivals from India. We expect about 100,000 tourists this year. We hope that the growth in arrivals from India would be over 30 per cent. Last year, we had over 70,000 tourists from India to Philippines," Glen Agustin, chief tourism operations officer, Market Development Division of Department of Tourism, Philippines told PTI.
Replying to a query, he said the growth is expected mainly on the basis of attractions, destinations and facilities that the country offers to visitors.

He said the archipelago hopes to receive about seven million tourists globally this year.
"We are going to receive about seven million tourists this year predominantly from our Asian neighbours. Also, we receive good number of visitors from the UK and the USA also. Last year, 5.5 million people visited Philippines," he said.
When asked about the visa requirements for Indian citizens, he said prior visa is needed for Indians while people who hold valid visas of countries such as Australia, USA, Japan, any of Schengen countries and UK are allowed to obtain visa on arrival into Philippines.