The Department of Tourism (DOT) said Monday the number of tourists who visited the country this year surpassed the six million mark.

In a statement, DOT said the Philippines received a total of 6,161,503 visitors from January to September, indicating a 14.37 percent increase from the 5,387,458 arrivals in the same period last year.

A total of 606,553 visitor arrivals were recorded by DOT for September which posed a double-digit growth of 17.09 percent compared to the 518,041 visitor count for September 2018.

“The figures look very promising, and we are glad that more tourists are visiting us in light of the accolades received by the Philippines and our destinations throughout the year,” Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said.

Data also showed a positive year-on-year arrival growth for eight of the top ten visitor markets for the Philippines.

DOT said from January to September, South Korea still tops the list with a total of 1,450,792 arrivals, followed by China with 1,359,817. The United States of America claims the third spot with 792,619 visitor arrivals for the nine-month period.

Japan remained fourth in the list with 518,211 arrivals, followed by Taiwan, with 252,578 arrivals.

Because of the significant increase in tourism arrivals in 2018, the Philippine was awarded as Asia’s Leading Tourism Board by the World Travel Awards (WTA).

The Japan Tourism Awards (JTA) also presented DOT with its Excellent Partner Award for the agency’s crucial role in the closure and successful rehabilitation of the tourist-favorite Boracay Island.

“While these awards prove prudence in our efforts to bolster Philippine tourism, ultimately, what keeps us doing what we do in the DOT is seeing more of our countrymen revel in the positive impacts of genuine sustainable tourism,” Puyat said. Ella Dionisio/DMS