Manila  - Tourist arrivals in the Philippines rose 1.5 per cent in 2008 despite the global economic slowdown, the government said Wednesday.

Tourism Secretary Ace Durano said 3.13 million tourists visited the Philippines last year, up from 3.09 million in 2007.

"The increase in the visitor count in 2008 is greatly attributed to the strong performance of the European markets, led by Russia, which posted a growth of 34 per cent," Durano said.

But Durano noted that South Korea and the United States remained the country's top tourism markets in 2008, accounting for 38 per cent of all arrivals.

Other top tourism markets for the Philippines were China, Taiwan, Australia and Canada.

Durano said tourist arrivals were expected to grow between 0 per cent and 1.9 per cent in 2009 as the world reels from an economic crisis.

"The growth outlook for 2009 will continue to be weighed down by the contraction of outbound travel in key source markets," he said. (dpa)