The Philippines is expected to receive 130,000 Chinese tourists this year, said a Philippine tourism official at the China International Travel Mart 2006 in Shanghai.

The Philippines saw 98,000 Chinese tourists in the first three quarters, and the annual total is expected to be 20 percent more than last year, said Edoardo Jarque, Deputy Minister of Tourism of the Philippines. The Philippines hosted 107,000 Chinese tourists in 2005, up 170 percent from the previous year, Jarque said.

China has become the fourth biggest tourist source country after the United States, the Republic of Korea and Japan, he said. The rise in Chinese tourists had prompted the Philippines to simplify visa procedures for Chinese and refocus the marketing strategy, Jarque said.

Source:佚名