Japanese tourist arrivals significantly increased starting in the third quarter, data from the Department of Tourism (DOT) said.

DOT data shows Japanese tourist arrivals at 824 in February, jumping to 2,310 in March, 5,838 in April, 5,203 in May and 6,775 by June.

The significant increase of Japanese arrivals of more than 10,000 per month started in July with a total 11,596 travelers until it rose at 13,860 in August. It slightly decreased to 11,786 for September followed by 11,509 by October.

As of November 14, the number of Japanese tourists reached 5,863 which makes the total arrivals since February reached 75,564.

The DOH said that Japan ranked sixth among foreign tourist arrivals from February to November 14.

In a radio interview, Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco said the target of 1.7 million tourist arrivals by the end of this year was breached with 2.025 million international arrivals as of November 14.

"We see the start of the recovery of tourism in the Philippines. In addition to that the estimated visitor receipt from the tourism have reached 100.7 billion pesos and it has a huge contribution to our economy," she said.

"Number one in our international arrival is the United States, followed by the South Korea, Australia, Canada, and United Kingdom," she added. Robina Asido/DMS