CEBU CITY, Philippines — Expect the number of Japanese tourists traveling to the Philippines to slump, after the major earthquake and tsunami that ravaged the northeastern coast of Japan last week.

This was the dire, but expected view of former Tourism Region 7 Director Dawnie Roa and Robert Lim Joseph of the Tourism Educators and Movers (TEAM) Philippines who both said they do not see many Japanese traveling anywhere much at all in the wake of the calamity that befell Japan last Friday. Japanese tourists are among the top five visitors to the country.

"It’s in the culture of the Japanese,” pointed out Joseph who was at the weekly 888 News Forum at the Marco Polo Hotel last Tuesday. “They don't really celebrate in times like this and they won't be travelling.”

On average, at least some 300,000 Japanese tourists come to the country every year. However, Roa said this number will “dwindle substantially and it will take some time before they will be traveling again.”

The disaster in Japan, the world’s third biggest economy, will not only have an impact on tourism in Cebu but also on the province’s import and export industries as well. Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Eric Mendoza said the disaster will likely cause delay or slowdown of flow of goods.

“The companies in the Mactan Economic Processing Zone (MEPZ) relying on Japanese suppliers will be affected with the possible delay of components, circuits and parts,” Mendoza said.

Companies in the MEPZ with headquarters in Japan will suffer economic losses and the purchasing power of their workers affected, says Filipino-Cebuano Business Club Inc. president Rey Calooy.

However, Calooy said he is confident that Japan would recover soon with the help of its trade partners around the globe.