At the Moscow travel expo, the DoT promoted the Philippines’ top tourist destinations such as Palawan, Boracay, Davao, and Siargao. According to the DoT, it is taking an “aggressive approach” in selling the country to Russian travelers after some 28,000 Russians visited the Philippines in 2016. “Russians spend more than others and they stay for an average of two weeks with their families in the Philippines,” Teo said. The DoT also conducted a Tourism Selling Mission in Saint Petersburg, the second largest city in Russia, last March 17. Based on United Nations World Tourism Organization data in 2015, Russia is the world’s sixth biggest outbound market in terms of expenditure, spending $35 billion abroad.

Source: Manila Times March 22, 2017 17:26 UTC