BEACH COUNTRY

In the Philippines, the head of the travel agencies association said the impact of the financial problems in the United States would likely be felt in the first quarter of 2009.

"When a global economic crisis hits, the first thing that people cut are the luxury items and activities," said Jose Clemente.

"Traveling is one of them. Our bookings are still good until January because these were done much earlier. What we're seeing right now is a bit of a downtrend. We're not receiving as many bookings as we would expect compared to previous years."

Clemente said the Philippines remained one of the top destinations in Southeast Asia because of its tropical beaches, particularly Boracay, Cebu and Palawan island resorts.

He said newer markets had also been discovered, such as Russia, the Scandinavian states and India while tourist arrivals from South Korea and China remained steady.

Tourism Secretary Joseph Ace Durano said the government had scaled down its tourist arrival growth from a high of 10 percent to about 5-7 percent this year due to high fuel prices and credit problems in its major markets, such as the United States and Japan.

Tourist arrivals in 2008 was expected to hit 3.7 million from about 3.5 million last year.

(Agencies via ChinaDaily October 25, 2008)