Tourist arrivals for 2011 soar to 4 million

I don't see anything positive in this story. Where is the ethnic breakdown? It said the US accounted for 16% (624,527). But there are over 5 MILLION (5,000,000) Filipinos in the US alone. Which would be only 12% of the US Filipino population if every single visitor from the US was a Filipino... If the Department of Tourism is spending All This Money just to target Filipinos, then they are Wasting the taxpayer's money...

Para sa mga nag nenegosyo sa Boracay, isaisip nyo ang pangmatagalang pag asenso ng Boracay at huwag gawing pang isahang bisita lang ng mga turista, huwag nyong samantalahin na nandyan sila at itataas nyo lahat presyo, from the trike fare pati bilihin sa market, dapat akitin nyo sila para balikbalikan kayo dyan, pati kapwa nyo Pilipino pag nagsalita na ng tagalog pang turista na din ang presyo, gayahin nyo ang Palawan, kahit anong kulay at salita iisa ang presyo nila, 2 beses na ako sa Boracay, pero 10 beses na sa Puerto Princesa at 2 beses sa Coron, Palawan, babalik balikan ko pa din ang Palawan.

Good news. We should make our country safe for visitors.

tourism industry in the Philippines will soar if the government will build much better facilities such as airports and seaports, much better road infrastructures, good security, competitive and better transportation means, more direct flights from different countries ( if i not mistaken, Europe's ban against our local airlines to serve direct flights from Europe is still effective )

and please eliminate corrupt officials in the airport ( matagal ng reklamo yan hindi lang ng local tourist but especially foreign tourists ) with those things in effect, we can encourage not just local but more and more foreign tourists.

this comingmay - i would want to go to bora - but since taking my whole fam will not be that cheap - it's unpractical to go to a very expensive plave and so we decided to go to palawan as we heard that they are way way cheaper even during peak season. i would to support and boast the beauty of bora to my family adn my husband who hasnt been to PINAS but everything are expensive there. these businesses should think of the longetivity of their business - di na baleng kumita ng maliit basta palagian naman ang kita kasi babalik at babalik ulit ang mga tao. malaki nga ang kinita mo sa isang gabi - pero di naman na babalik kasi naranasan at nalaman na nila kung ganu kamahal ang magBORA. tsk..tsk..

THE PEARL OF THE ORIENT,THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES,..HOME OF A SMILING,FRIENDLY AND MOST HOSPITABLE PEOPLE.

I completely enjoyed my vacation in the Philippines. it was fantastic and a lot of places that I've discovered that are very rare. Chocolate Hills are incredible. and specially those beaches, I was like Wow. hope to visit there again this year. but I truly wish that those street children will be sent to a refuge or some place that they could stay on. hoping to visit Palawan this year :)

no doubt our country is very beautiful but i dread poor security, corruption, poor infrastructure and dirty cities. the beauty of the Philippines deserves a place at the forefront so please the government and every citizen should act on these! P-Noy, start with Manila!!!

4M Tourists? And we have to rejoice for that? OMG! That's nothing compared to our neighbors. And that will not improve if our Peace & Order is not improving. Metropolis is an eyesore for dilapidated infrastructures and disgusting illegal vendors. Main roads are jungles reflecting the inability to discipline. But who will discipline? Those undiscplined in uniform?
Mind you that out of those 4M tourists that we thought, a quarter (if not half) of them are people working in BPO industry, not the real tourists. So we are still not that competitive as tourist destination and there is a HUGE ROOM needed for improvement.
I love the Philippines.. but it seems only few really love this country. God save the Philippines

I enjoy the Philippines. I have been there many times now and especially enjoy the provinces. My daughter and I have stayed with my wifes family in the village for three months and even though it was quite a culture shock I learned and adapted. The people are friendly and there is lots to see and do. I was warned about pickpockets so I never carried much money or my wallet with me very much at all. You just have to get used to everyone having their hand out and knowing when to give and when not to.

Decongest the traffic in major thoroughfares in Manila.... remove all sidewalk vendors..... yan ang nag papabagal ng economia ng bansa.... Walang bansang umunlad na may heavy traffic jam at mga undisciplined sidewalk vendors.

and you count returning ofw's as tourist as well?really it's more fun in the philippines...

I love visiting the Philippines but dread on the filthy restrooms. Even restaurants have stinky and dirty toilets. It just shows, no one maintains it.

Hey, most of these arrivals are business people who enter the country as "tourists" hence the large numbers from Korea, Japan, China and Taiwan.

I think you should realise all the japanese/chinese are here for business and Americans/Europeans here for having CHEAP SEX and koreans here to learn English.So really,their is not much real tourism involved..The Philippines needs to step up their game and improve.move ahead...instead of being the poorest/dirtiest country in Asia,corruption sucks..so does the Filipino people with their uneducated manners and mentality..their to blame for the countries state..Im half filipino and 18 years old and i love Philippines and kind filipinos but I'm just not happy how it is! and you have to accept it and not deny it!

Maganda naman talaga ang mga tourist spots sa Pilipinas ah kaya sana ay dumami pa ang mga turista sa Pilipinas. Maging friendly tayo sa pakikitungo upang maengganyo sila sa kanilang pamamalagi.

Huwag nyo lang pagsamantalahan mga BUANG!!!

Is this based on the arrivals in NAIA? If it is, there might be deceit in the report since last year, a lot of OFWs were repatriated from other countries like Egypt.

I've been to my native land before, The Philippines, i was so excited because it was my first time and finally being able to go to the country where i am from. But when we arrived, i just got from "giddy" to being "weary" and angry and irritated. I look very pinoy, which i am proud of, and along the flight, i had my foreign friends with me, their first time too at the time, but when we arrive at the airport, wow you can see the bias and how opportunistic the people were! They greeted smilingly and cheerfully to my foreign friends (which is good, but). Four attendants were there. They were so eager and talkative to them, i was the last person in line, so when my turn came, three of them just walked away, and the one left didn't even smile at me! And she spoke tagalog to me, which i somehow understand, and wasn't very "happy" to talk to me, she was just so plain and lifeless talking to me. I felt down, because i thought i would be more accommodated because i am pinoy, also my first time. I thought they would greet me and ask me whatever things they would ask, like what my parents told me that pinoys are like that. I mean, come on. I am not saying that i want to have all the attention, no, what i am trying to say is that, it was just so unfair and totally not good. So that was the "welcome feeling" i got when we arrived. A lot more came when we exited the airport, etc. It was 20 years ago, but i've never went back to the Philippines since. I don't know if i will go back or not, but i have my plans, i hope the people there are now much better, but i have read a lot comments from every Yahoo.Ph article saying how bad pinoys are, which is making me really sad. I am pinoy (half) but i don't know, i am still so very proud of being one, it's maybe because of my parents' influence to me. Well, God Bless to PH!
Rick, NY

welcome to the phil... beware of the ff.. kidnaper, holdaper, carnaper, carjacker, dognaper, mandurukot, snatcher, kotong cops, akyat bahay, salisi, abu sayaff, n p a, rapist, drug syndicate...etc...etc...

3.9 millions foreigners have reported that 90 millions filipinos are still urinating in and on the streets, public parks, market places and goverment buildings, schools etc like stray dogs.