DAVAO TOURISM BOOM CONTINUES
Davao City, Nov. 19, 1997 - Tourist arrivals in Davao are expected to top the one million mark this year, with 824,959 visitors registered from January to September. The figures for the first nine months of 1997 show an increase of 33.87 percent over the same period last year.
Tourism officials and industry leaders have concentrated on the convention market to attract bigger numbers of visitors. Catalina Dakudao, tourism director for Mindanao, says tourists used to be mainly businessmen and leisure travellers, but conventioners and business assemblies started to peak in the last two years.
"We want to attract the convention market because this is a more reliable market," she said. "It provides us with the opportunity to offer the other amenities of the tourist facilities."
Another indication of the tourism boom is the 19% increase in the collection of customs duties at the Davao sea port. Customs District Commissioner Datu Minah Dianalan reports revenues totalling P744.9 million from January to September this year.
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