Northstar

2 WWW.TRAVELWEEKLY-ASIA.COM NOV 2017 ON THE THE FUN NEVER STOPS IN THE PHILIPPINES. KNOWN FOR ITS WORLD-FAMOUS SUNSET, THE TRUTH IS THAT THE SUN NEVER TRULY SETS IN THIS ARCHIPELAGO OF 7,641 ISLANDS. The Philippines is a melting pot of Asian and European cultures. The country traces its history to Negritos or aborigines in 30,000 BC to pre-colonial Malay seafarers who established settlements or barangays in Panay Island around the 13th century. It was colonized by Spain in 1521 until 1898 when the Philippines was ceded to the United States. The Philippines became an independent republic in July 1946. A DESTINATION ON THE MOVE Today, the Philippines is a destination on the move. Its economy grew by 6.5% GDP in the second quarter of 2017, sustaining the first quarter growth of 6.4%. The government is targeting a full-year 2017 economic growth of up to 7.5%. Tourism is now one of the pillars of the Philippine economy as its growth continues to fuel economic activity and employment. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), the country's travel and tourism industry accounted for 19.7% of GDP, pumping in US$57 billion into the local economy in 2016. In the first half of 2017, arrivals were up 12.7% to 3.36 million from 2.97 million in the same period a year ago. South Korea remained the country's top market with a 24% share of the total, followed by the United States (15.3%), China (13.6%), and Japan (8.8%). China posted the biggest jump in arrivals over a year ago with an increase of 33% followed by India (23%), and Canada (18%). LEISURE RULES The dominant reason for visiting the Philippines was for leisure, with 53.4% of visitors coming over for holiday purposes. The other reasons for visiting were visiting friends and relatives (9% of visitors) and business (7.6%), as well as for education, attendance to conventions and incentive meetings, official missions, and medical reasons (30%). Foreign visitors were also staying in the country longer. Average length of stay was 9.9 nights in 2015 compared to 8 MOVE According to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), the country's travel and tourism industry accounted for 19.7% of GDP, pumping in US$57 BILLION into the local economy in 2016. CONTENTS THE BIG PICTURE 2 VIEW FROM THE TOP 4 GREAT ESCAPE 5 COOL STAYS 8 TRENDING—DIVING 10 REPORT—ON THE AIR 11 T H E B I G P I C T U R E

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