International tourist arrivals in the country beached the three million mark while tourism receipts surged to P212.47 billion, the Department of Tourism (DOT) reported Wednesday, July 19. Latest data from the DOT recorded a total of 3,000,079 international visitor arrivals from January 1 to July 19, 2023. The DOT also reported that the country’s inbound tourism receipts from January 1 to June 30, 2023 have likewise climbed to P212.467 billion or 502.02 percent higher than the P35.292 billion tourism revenue generated from the same period last year. “We are glad to report that in roughly seven months, we have already achieved the 3 million international visitor arrivals mark, reflecting continued robust recovery and the gains of the Marcos Administration towards the resurgence of Philippine tourism, ” Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco said in a statement. “Tourism provides employment and livelihood to millions of Filipinos. We are grateful for the renewed interest worldwide in the Philippines which offers a multitude of reasons to love travel across our islands. We thank as well our fellow Filipinos who continue to travel domestically, supporting our local communities and families who are all part of the tourism value chain,” the tourism chief added. Of the total foreign tourist arrivals, 91.36 percent or 2,740,802 are foreign tourists, while the remaining 8.64 percent or 259,277 are overseas Filipinos. South Korea delivered almost a quarter of the total number of international visitors for the Philippines with 741,658 (24.72 percent) followed by the United States of America (USA) in the second spot with 550,569 (18.35 percent); then Australia with 146,062 (4.87 percent); Japan with 143,227 (4.77 percent); and Canada with 132,018 (4.40 percent) as the top 5 source markets of foreign arrivals. Other visitors came from China with 129,077 (4.30 percent); Taiwan with 104,211 (3.47 percent); United Kingdom with 85,847 (2.86 percent); Singapore with 81,656 (2.72 percent); and Malaysia with 54,411 (1.81 percent).