DoT: 2.12-M Intramuros tourists in H1
Credit to Author: LISBET K. ESMAEL| Date: Sat, 05 Oct 2019 16:13:32 +0000
THE number of tourists who visited Intramuros, Manila, reached more than 2 million in the first half of the year, according to the Department of Tourism (DoT).
In a statement, the DoT said the 2.12 million visitors the Intramuros Administration (IA) recorded from January to June surpassed the department’s goal by 200,000.
The number of foreign tourists in the Walled City — which was the country’s capital during Spanish colonial rule — also grew by 33.56 percent to more than 245,500 in the six-month period.
“The efforts we [exerted for] Intramuros [in] the past year, such as safeguarding its cultural heritage, improving access and mobility in the area, and fostering creativity and innovation for socioeconomic growth, [were] pivotal [in] the increase in tourist arrivals,” Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat was quoted as saying in the statement.
“The government, through the Intramuros Administration, has been working double time in transforming Intramuros into a ‘sustainable creative urban heritage district,’ since the area is considered a thriving tourism community, where culture, creativity and innovation, and sustainability converge,” she added.
IA data showed that the top 10 countries where these tourists came from are China, Japan, the United States, South Korea, France, India, Indonesia, Germany, Taiwan and Malaysia.
“[O]ur goal for Intramuros is to ensure the livability and inclusive development of the community through effective sustainability programs, primarily the livelihood of the residents,” IA chief Guiller Asido said in the statement.
“We also want Filipinos to know that the Walled City is an open venue for all kinds of cultural exchange for people to experience the revitalized Intramuros,” he added.