The Philippines records more than 4M foreign visitors showing strong rebound of tourism
The
Department
of
Tourism
(DOT)
is
optimistic
about
the
Philippine
tourism
industry’s
continuing
resurgence
post-pandemic,
with
visitor
arrivals
to
the
country
breaching
the
four
million
mark
today
(Sept.
29).
This,
as
it
recorded
a
total
of
4,005,465
visitor
arrivals
to
the
country
from
January
1
to
September
29,
2023,
in
its
latest
report.
Tourism
Secretary
Christina
Garcia
Frasco
made
the
announcement
as
she
graced
the
opening
of
the
Travel
Sale
Expo
2023
and
the
1st
Global
Tourism
Conference
Trade
Fair
at
SM
Megamall.
“I
am
very
pleased
to
deliver
the
good
news
that
today,
we
have
managed
to
breach
the
four
million
mark
in
international
arrivals
into
the
Philippines.
This
has
brought
into
our
economy
over
Php
316
billion,” Secretary
Frasco
said.
“The
recovery
of
the
tourism
industry
was
well
seen
by
the
end
of
2022,
with
the
Philippine
Statistics
Authority
attesting
that
tourism
contributed
6.2
percent
to
our
GDP
and
contributed
no
less
than
Php
1.87
trillion
combined
visitor
receipts
for
international
and
domestic.
Most
importantly,
this
resulted
in
the
employment
of
our
fellow
Filipinos
in
the
number
of
5.35
million
tourism-related
jobs,” she
continued.
The
tourism
chief
noted
that,
under
the
administration
of
President
Ferdinand
R.
Marcos,
Jr.,
the
DOT
is
vigorously
carrying
out
initiatives
under
the
National
Tourism
Development
Plan
(NTDP)
2023-2028
that
would
sustain
this
growth
and
allow
the
industry
to
meet
its
target
of
4.8
million
arrivals
this
year.
“Under
the
leadership
of
our
President
Ferdinand
R.
Marcos,
Jr.,
whose
strong
belief
in
tourism
has
united
and
given
hope
to
our
various
stakeholders
across
the
entire
tourism
value
chain
all
over
the
country,
one
of
the
first
things
that
the
DOT,
by
working
with
other
national
government
agencies,
prioritized
is
the
full
reopening
of
the
Philippines
to
travel
and
tourism
to
be
able
to
bring
quality
jobs
to
Filipinos
and
regain
livelihood
lost
due
to
the
pandemic
and
various
calamities
that
the
country
has
had
to
face
in
recent
years,” Secretary
Frasco
said.
“As
we
continue
to
pursue
tourism
that
is
anchored
on
our
strength
as
a
warm
and
hospitable
people,
by
showing
our
visitors
the
multitude
of
reasons
to
Love
the
Philippines,
and
by
espousing
inclusivity
and
sustainability
in
our
plans
and
programs
if
only
to
ensure
that
no
one
gets
left
behind
in
our
path
to
recovery,
we
only
see
these
numbers
growing
in
the
coming
months,” she
added.
Of
the
total
arrivals
for
the
period,
91.58
percent
or
3,668,039
are
foreign
visitors,
while
8.42
percent
or
337,426
are
overseas
Filipinos.
Based
on
the
DOT’s
arrivals
report
based
on
country
of
residence,
South
Korea
ranked
first
in
terms
of
the
country’s
top
source
markets,
delivering
more
than
a
quarter
of
the
total
international
arrivals
to
the
Philippines
with
1,046,176
(26.12
percent),
followed
by
the
United
States
of
America
(USA)
with
679,090
(16.95
percent);
Japan
with
221,671
(5.53
percent);
China
with
194,258
(4.85
percent);
and
Australia
with
187,143
(4.67
percent).
Other
visitors
came
from
Canada
with
164,168
(4.10
percent);
Taiwan
with
146,396
(3.65
percent);
the
United
Kingdom
with
114,096
(2.85
percent);
Singapore
with
107,674
(2.69
percent);
and
Malaysia
with
72,008
(1.80
percent).
As
may
be
recalled,
under
the
leadership
of
Secretary
Frasco,
the
DOT
has
identified
seven
main
objectives
in
pursuit
of
the
President’s
vision
for
the
Philippines
to
be
transformed
into
a
tourism
powerhouse
in
Asia,
among
these
is
the
diversification
of
the
country’s
tourism
portfolio
through
multi-dimensional
tourism,
which
focuses
on
growing
niche
markets
including
golf,
dive,
and
meetings,
MICE,
as
well
as
film
and
heritage
tourism
in
addition
to
the
country’s
more
established
tourism
products.
In
a
media
interview
at
the
event,
the
DOT
chief
expressed
her
gratitude
to
all
travelers
that
made
the
milestone
for
the
industry
possible,
and
enjoined
tourists
to
continue
supporting
Philippine
tourism.
“Nagpapasalamat
po
tayo
sa
ating
mga
friends
and
tourists
from
all
over
the
world
that
continue
to
show
their
love
for
the
Philippines.
We
are
very
close
to
our
target
of
4.8
million
by
the
end
of
this
year.
Kaya
naman
po
I
continue
to
encourage
our
friends
from
all
over
the
world
to
show
their
love
for
the
Philippines,”
she
said.
