Seeing South Korea as an important tourism source market and driver for travel and tourism growth for the Philippines, the Department of Tourism (DOT) on Thursday hosted welcome rites for the record 1400 delegation of incentive travellers from Korea upon their arrival at the Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA).

Leading the initiative to greet Korean travellers with distinct Filipino hospitality is no less than Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco who met a batch of 300 travellers from the delegation.

The travellers, who arrived at the MCIA via chartered flight KE 9615, are members of the Korea branch of UNICITY, a direct-selling company on health functional foods, cosmetics and household items with over 60 markets globally.

As a reward to their top agents, sellers, and distributors, UNICITY-Korea sends a big volume of incentive groups to Southeast Asian countries annually. This year, the company is sending 1,400 people in four batches (Apr. 9, 13, 17, and 21) to Cebu.

For 2023, Secretary Frasco happily shared that Korea has reclaimed the number one spot in terms of tourist arrivals to the Philippines.

DOT data showed a significant pick up in Korean arrivals since last year, with 428,014 or a 16.13 percent share of the country’s arrivals received between February 10–when the country eased its borders for leisure travelers—up until December 31, 2022.

“The good news is that as of today, we have over 1.5 million tourist arrivals to the Philippines and our number one top source market are the Koreans. So we’re very grateful to our friends from Korea for continuing to show their love for the Philippines as they have come back in droves, and the UNICITY group in particular, has come with a delegation of no less than 1,400 individuals,” Secretary Frasco said.

Frasco was joined by Lapu-lapu City Lone Representative Congresswoman Cindi King-Chan; Lapu-lapu City Mayor Junard Ahong Chan; Mr. Rafael Aboitiz, Chief Executive Officer of GMR – Aboitiz; Mr. Julius G. Neri, MCIA General Manager; Mr. Heejin Noh, Corporate Business Team Leader of Tides Square Korea; and Mr. Sangyeol Ha, Korean Air Station Manager in Cebu, and officials of the DOT including Undersecretary Shahlimar Hofer Tamano, Undersecretary Ferdinand Jumapao, and OIC-Undersecretary Verna C. Buensuceso.

To complete their preview of the colorful Filipino experience, the travelers were also welcomed with leis, fascinating performances by Filipiniana-clad rondalla serenaders as well as by vibrant Sinulog dancers.