Who needs Boracay? Despite the closure of the world-famous island resort on April 26, tourist arrivals in the country jumped to an “all-time” high in the first half of the year, according to the Department of Tourism (DOT). Visitor arrivals from January to June 2018 grew 10.40 percent to 3,706,721 compared with numbers in the same period last year, according to the DOT’s Statistics, Economic Analysis, and Information Management Division. While Korea remained to be the top source of tourists, sending 815,683 visitors to the Philippines, the number of tourists coming from China grew to 645,089 or 17.4 percent of total arrivals.

Cabaiza, D. (2018, July 22). No Bora? Tourism doing well — DOT. Philippine Daily Inquirer, p. A7.