The Philippines has logged P5.45 million international tourist arrivals last year post-Covid pandemic, the Department of Tourism (DOT) announced on Tuesday, Jan. 2.
The DOT noted that this generated P480 billion in international tourism receipts.
Data from the tourism department showed that 5,450,557 international visitors entered the Philippines from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2023.
Per the DOT, of the 5.45 million foreign visitors that came to the country last year, the majority—91.80 percent, or 5,003,475—were foreign nationals. Meanwhile, 447,082 Filipinos, or 8.20 percent, are overseas Filipinos.
“The new record is around 650,000 higher than its target of 4.8 million international visitors projected to visit the country for the entire year,” the tourism department pointed out.
South Korea top source of int’l tourists
The DOT reported that South Korea maintained its position as the country's primary source of international visitors, accounting for 26.41 percent of the total of 1,439,336 foreign visitors.
The United States (US) came in second with 903,299 tourists (16.57 percent), followed by Japan with 305,580 (5.61 percent), Australia with 266,551 (4.89 percent), and China with 263,836 (4.84 percent).
Other foreigners who visited the country from other top source markets after China were from Canada, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, Singapore, and Malaysia.
The tourism department revealed that the country is targeting 7.7 million international visitor arrivals by 2024.
Higher tourism receipts
According to the DOT, the country's international tourism receipts increased by P482.54 billion between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2023.
“This is higher by 124.87 percent compared with the PHP214.58 billion estimated visitor receipts from the same period last year,” the DOT said.
In 2019, or the pre-pandemic period, the DOT recorded P482.15 billion in international tourism earnings.
The Philippines has also obtained an expected 66 percent recovery rate for its all-time high foreign visitor arrivals in 2019.
Tourism Secretary Christina G. Frasco thanked all tourism stakeholders, collaborative partners, and “passionate contributors” who propelled their shared aspirations forward.