Nearly 208,000 Chinese tourists visit Philippines in Jan.-Sept.

MANILA, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- At least 207,932 Chinese tourists have visited the Philippines from January to September this year, a Philippine lawmaker said Monday.

Citing the latest data from the Department of Tourism, Representative Marvin Rillo said Chinese tourists comprise 5.15 percent of the 4,038,379 foreign tourists who arrived in the Philippines during the first nine months of 2023.

Rillo, the vice-chair of the House of Representatives committee on tourism, said South Koreans topped the foreign arrivals with 1,064,077 or 26.35 percent of the total arrivals, followed by the Americans with 715,744 and Japanese with 220,604.

Meanwhile, Rillo urged the tourism department to use the so-called "rifle marketing," which is opposed to "shotgun marketing," in advertising the Philippines as a destination for foreign holidaymakers and a hub for international meetings, conventions and exhibitions.

"Rifle marketing" targets individual markets, whereas "shotgun marketing" aims for the entire global market regardless of specific corners.

Rillo said the Philippine government has earmarked a 1.26 billion pesos (roughly 22.2 million U.S. dollars) budget next year to "sell" the Philippines to prospective foreign visitors.