MANILA, (PNA) — Despite recent clashes in Zamboanga, the Philippines is still a safe place to visit for Malaysians, according to Philippine minister and consul general to Malaysia, Medardo Macaraig.
Macaraig said in East Malaysia’s national newspaper, Daily Express! that it was practically over and that the Filipino government has already dealt with it.
Furthermore, he said that despite the Filipino intrusion in Lahad Datu, Malaysia which happened February this year, it is not a sentiment of the Filipinos and will not pose problems.
“Malaysians are friends of the Filipinos,” Macaraig said in the Daily Express.
“Malaysia is the Philippines’ 10th largest tourist market according to the Philippines Dept. of Tourism and the Philippines is Malaysia’s 7th largest tourist market according to Tourism Malaysia,” he added.
Malaysian arrivals in the Philippines reached to 100 thousand in 2012, Macaraig said and this year, the Philippines targets 5.5 million foreign tourist arrivals—including that of Malaysia.
Foreign tourist arrivals in the Philippines reached 4.27 million in 2012 and out of this number, Macaraig said that 114,513 were Malaysians.
He added that this number represented an increase of 24.81 percent as compared to its previous year.