Chinese tourists are the Philippines' second top visitors, the Department of Tourism (DOT) disclosed on Wednesday, Oct. 12, amid reports of China's blacklisting of the country over the continuous presence of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs).
DOT Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco said that before the pandemic, the DOT recorded almost 1.8 million Chinese tourist arrivals every year.
"Prior to the pandemic, China was our country's second top source market ranking close next to South Korea. In 2019 alone, 1,743, 309 million Chinese have visited our country," said Frasco.
She added that the figure resounded the cordial relationship between China and the Philippines, particularly in the aspect of tourism.
Frasco issued the statement amid the recent issue that threaten the Philippines to place on China's tourism blacklist due to the continued operations of offshore gaming operators in the country.
The Chinese embassy, however, clarified the issue saying "the report of 'tourist blacklist' is misinformation".
Meanwhile, China is yet reopen its borders to outbound leisure travel.
This resulted in the drought in the foreign arrivals visiting the Philippines since 2020, Frasco said.
"Currently, China has not yet reopened its borders to outbound leisure travel of its nationals cognizant of its present outbound restriction to its citizens; thus, registering only 17, 454 visitors to the Philippines in 2020; 6,615 in 2021; and 23,482 in 2022," Frasco said.
Despite this, the tourism chief underscored that the DOT continues to work on supporting Marcos Jr.'s administration in improving the tourism industry, as they are looking forward to the resumption of Chinese travelers visiting the country.