Photo by Simon Zhu
According to recent surveys, many Filipino tourists still prefer to travel to Hong Kong and Singapore for vacation and leisure. Thanks to the frequency of flights to the city offered by different airline companies, said Tim Tio, sales and outbound marketing manager of Travelite Travel and Tours Philippines.
Hong Kong received a 15.6-percent increase in arrival from the Philippines from January to July 2012. In 2011, it received 659,829 visitors. Singapore, on the other hand, has been visited by 677,681 Filipinos that year; and had served 154 flights, compared to the 148 which landed in Hong Kong.
It is the boosting tourism industries of Singapore and Hong Kong that are held responsible for the statistics. Hong Kong is very much known for its shopping culture which Filipino travelers truly take pleasure in. On the other hand, it is the Singapore attractions - Resorts World Sentosa and Universal Studios Singapore - which immensely contribute to the strong number of arrivals from the Philippines.
This kind of set-up is expected to continue especially with the opening of the Legoland in Johor Bahru (Malaysia), which is easily accessed from Singapore. Some travel agencies in the Philippines have begun to offer tours to the amusement park, which will cover transfers from a hotel in Singapore to Legoland, and back.
But if Singapore and Hong Kong are enjoying a great reception from Philippine tourists, Malaysia seemed to have experienced a drop in 2011. That is why Malaysia has prompted a more aggressive tourism program which includes product seminars in Manila, Clark, Cebu, and Davao. Positive results have been noted in June 2012 though.
Furthermore, new air links have been established by different airline companies originating from the Philippines to Malaysia. Airphil Express, Zest Air, and SEAir offered flights to the country earlier this year; while Cebu Pacific Air is set to launch flights from Cebu to Kuala Lumpur, come December.
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