A senior Philippine diplomat said on Thursday that more and more Chinese tourists are considering the Philippines as their vacation destination of choice.

Philippine Ambassador to China Sonia Brady said that 20,633 visas were issued to the Chinese nationals by the embassy and the Philippine Consulates General in Guangzhou, Xiamen and Shanghai for January 2008 alone, according to the website of the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila.

The figure represents a 229 percent increase compared with 9,007 visas issued on the same period in 2007, Brady said, adding "this is a wonderful development in Philippines-China relations, especially in our efforts to promote people-to-people exchanges between our two countries."

"High level visits of our officials also played a key role in promoting the Philippines to the Chinese people. They were all widely publicized by the Chinese media, especially the visits of President Arroyo last year. They indicated that Philippines-China relations have reached a higher level of partnership," the envoy said.

She also said that the numerous articles about the best tourist destinations in the Philippines have also appeared in various Chinese language newspapers, magazines and television as representatives of the Department of Tourism in China continue to intensify their campaign to attract Chinese tourists to visit the Philippines.

To accommodate the growing demand for tourist visas from the Chinese, Brady said that the Embassy and the Philippine Consulates General in China have simplified procedures in applying for a visa.

"Provided the guidelines are followed and the papers submitted to the Embassy and the Consulates General are complete, business and tourist visas can be issued within two working days," she said.