CEBU CITY, Cebu, Philippines – Tourism arrivals in Cebu continue to grow with the Department of Tourism in Central Visayas (DoT 7) recording 1,131,230 visitors in the first seven months of this year, or an increase of 10.52 percent over the same period in 2010.

Korean nationals continue to top the list of foreign visitors, growing more than half, or 53.01 percent, from some 135,207 arrivals in the said period last year, to 206,885 arrivals this year.

DoT 7 Director Rowena Montecillo explained that Koreans continue to flock to Cebu because many of them, particularly the younger generation, come first as tourists and then later decide to stay for several months to study English in one of the many English-as-a-second-language (ESL) schools in the province.

Japanese visitors came in second with arrival figures growing at 3.28 percent or 87,461 arrivals from 84,686 recorded in the same period in 2010.

The US market also grew, that is, by 6.15 percent from 41,760 in 2010 to 44,329 arrivals this year.

The Australian market, meanwhile, grew even more substantially, that is, 19.70 percent or 12,755 arrivals this year compared to 10,656 arrivals recorded in the previous year.

Other top tourist arrivals from overseas recorded by Cebu include visitors from the United Kingdom with 7,915 arrivals; Hong Kong with 7,612; Germany with 7,567; and Canada with 6,550.

However, the DoT 7 records showed a drip in arrivals from mainland China by almost half, or 45.38 percent from 26,427 arrivals last year to only 14,435 this year.

“Tourism in Cebu is still booming,” said Montecillo. “You see foreigners everywhere in the province, especially in beach resorts and malls.”

Meanwhile, in terms of domestic arrivals to Cebu, these likewise grew by 6.73 percent, that is, from 616,609 arrivals last year to 658,097 so far this year.