With rising political tensions between China and the Philippines following the harassment of a Filipino Warship by 12 Chinese fishing vessels on April 10…
Reports from China Daily, Asia News Network
MANILA/BEIJING- With rising political tensions between China and the Philippines following the harassment of a Filipino Warship by 12 Chinese fishing vessels on April 10, China called travellers on May 9 for a boycott of the country. The boycott would however have a limited effect on tourism business, according to Filipino President, Benigno Aquino II. He described the number of total Chinese travellers to represent only 5% of all arrivals, a manageable situation: “Chinese say it’s our loss, 5% of our tourists will be gone. That’s just 5%, let’s not forget the other 95%. We have other markets. Our world will not end if we lose the 5% and we can offset it with growth from other markets,” he declared at a meeting on May 25.Tourists from China accounted at the end of 2011 for over 8% of all arrivals. China is meanwhile the Philippines fourth largest market and one of the fastest growing for the archipelago. Since then, the Philippines have tried to diffuse the tension by nominating a new ambassador to China, after a year break without any diplomat in the Chinese capital. Aquino approved the appointment of diplomat Sonia Brady as the new ambassador to China on May 23. According to the Presidency, the new Ambassador “is already familiar with the politics and the culture of that country. That person can hit the ground running”, he declared. Even if the new Filipino representative can help easing the tensions between both countries, it will still take a while until confidence in the destination if fully restored from Chinese travellers. The target of receiving in 2012 some 4.2 million travellers and some 10 million by 2016 seems to be difficult to reach – at least this year.
Arrivals to the Philippines from January to April 2012
(Source: Philippines Secretary of State for tourism)
Luc Citrinot a French national is a freelance journalist and consultant in tourism and air transport with over 20 years experience. Based in Paris and Bangkok, he works for various travel and air transport trade publications in Europe and Asia.
