By JIMMY CALAPATI

Tourism secretary Joseph Durano said yesterday that estimated receipts from tourists last year reached $4.88 billion, up 40 percent from the previous year.

In a year-end briefing, Durano said that arrivals exceeded three million, representing growth of 8.7 percent.

He said arrivals this year will go up by another eight to 10 percent and that earnings will exceed $5.8 billion, two years ahead of the target under the government’s mid-term development program.

South Koreans continue to favor the Philippines , making up 21 percent of total arrivals, followed by Americans, Japanese, Chinese and Australians.

Close to 10 percent of the total tourists visited last month, enjoying the specially long Christmas holidays in the country.

Durano said that more and varied types of tourists are being lured to the country. These include golfers, divers, students, honeymooners and families.

Promotional activities have presented the country as an ideal destination for learning the English language and other forms of educational travel, as well as medical tourism.

Arrivals from Russia grew by 128 percent to 8,163 from 3,566 in 2006. India also continuously showed double digit gains, making it one of the fastest growing markets after China.

The average length of stay has also increased from 12.06 nights in 2006 to 16.70 nights last year.

"For 2008, we will be more value conscious. Volume is secondary to the value. We are targeting $5.8 billion in tourist spending," Durano said.

Durano also said that for 2008, the department will be given a P1.2 billion budget. "This is the first time that the budget is more than P1 billion."

"We do not remit anything since we are not a collecting agency. The spending of the tourists go directly to the economy," Durano said.

However, Durano mentioned that for 2007, the government invested P1 billion only to the tourism industry but earned $4.8 billion from tourists’ expenditures.

Durano said that, for 2008, the DOT will continue to work on several fronts to maintain the current momentum and pave the way for long-term sustainability of the industry.

First, the department will pursue on consolidating the country’s positioning in both core and other strategic markets.

Second, greater emphasis will be placed on value generation. DOT plans to maximize the usage of existing infrastructure such as airports, hotels and transportation by persuading more tourists to stay longer and spend more.

Also, the country’s destinations and offerings to travelers will be further diversified.

"With the current upbeat momentum and optimism being enjoyed by the tourism industry, (DOT) will remain focused on performance and results to achieve the highest return," Durano said.