Philippines ranks 8th among top searched travel destinations

The Philippines has landed on the list of top 10 most-searched travel destinations among Shanghai online users of China’s leading search engine Baidu, according to a research done by Darwin Marketing.

Baidu comprises 72 percent of the Chinese online market, and is the third largest search engine in the world in December last year. Google posted a 19 percent share in the same market, placing it at a distant second to Baidu

The Philippines is 8th among the top travel destinations, with Japan placing 1st; South Korea, 2nd; Thailand, 3rd; Singapore, 4th; Australia, 5th; Bali, 6th; Malaysia, 7th; North Korea, 9th; and France, 10th.

Shanghai Post also complimented the country for getting the biggest increase in visa collections, with a 65 percent year-to-date growth rate recorded from January to October of 2008. The Chinese market is the fourth top tourism source, posting a 5.4 percent increase in tourist arrivals from January to October of this year.