The country was named in the New York-based luxury and travel magazine's Top 20 Countries in the World by around 600,000 readers who registered for the 2019 survey.
In a statement, the DOT reported that inbound foreign guests reached 5,554,950 for the period of January to August this year, indicating a 14.08-percent increase from the 4,869,417 tourists recorded during the same period of 2018.
The University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute (UP-MSI) recently announced it had successfully tested a newly-acquired autonomous surface vehicle in the Tubbataha Reefs National Marine Park.
The city government is eyeing the operation of a small cruise ship that will sail to the Philippines' four popular destinations -- Underground River in Puerto Princesa, El Nido and Coron in northern Palawan, and Boracay.
