Nearly 115,000 Chinese tourists visit Philippines in H1

MANILA, July 11 (Xinhua) -- At least 114,663 Chinese tourists visited the Philippines from January to June this year, according to the data from the Philippines' Department of Tourism (DOT).

The tourism agency data showed South Koreans were the top foreign arrivals during the first semester of 2023, with 673,841 arrivals.

Lawmaker Marvin Rillo, the House of Representatives Committee of Tourism vice chair, said the South Korean tourists accounted for 25 percent of the 2,470,798 foreigners that traveled to the Philippines during the first six months.

DOT data showed that the Americans were the second tourist arrivals from January to June with 516,318, followed by Australians with 129,705, Japanese with 128,081, and Canadians with 124,510.

Last week, the Philippines' Department of Foreign Affairs announced that it will launch the E-visa system "within the third quarter of 2023" to facilitate the entry of foreign tourists and businessmen, including Chinese, into the country.