For the first time in 15 years, the Philippines has achieved a net trade surplus in travel services in 2023 by breaching the $100 billion export of goods and services mark.

This was revealed by Department of Tourism (DOT) Secretary Christina G. Frasco on Tuesday, April 2, citing the preliminary full-year data released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) .

“The country recorded $2.45 billion in net trade surplus in travel services, while travel services export receipts reached $9.1 billion, which is more than double the level in 2022 and constitutes 93.2 percent of 2019 travel export receipts level,” the agency said in a statement.

According to the DOT, a trade surplus occurs when foreign visitors spend more money in the Philippines than Filipino citizens do abroad.

Travel services in 2023 contributed 18.9 percent share to the Philippines’ total service exports of $48.28 billion, the BSP report added.

The information technology and business process management (IT-BPM) industries' "strong performance and a turnaround in tourism revenues" were cited by the BSP as the reasons for the growth.

The tourism department noted that the Philippines welcomed 5.45 million international visitors in 2023, successfully breaching its year-end target of 4.8 million.

Such development, Frasco said, is a testament to the collective efforts and dedication of stakeholders in making the Philippines a tourism powerhouse in Asia.

“We welcome the latest numbers from the BSP report which sets an optimistic tone not just for the DOT, but to all our tourism stakeholders, and tourism leaders and shakers, even those who came before me, who have all worked tirelessly and shown nothing but resilience in the past difficult years,” she said.

In 2023, the Philippines garnered significant recognition from esteemed travel and tourism authorities and publications. Notably, at the World Travel Awards (WTA) 2023 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, the nation secured four major accolades. These included retaining its titles as the World's Leading Beach Destination and World's Leading Dive Destination from 2022. Additionally, for the first time, the Philippines received the Global Tourism Resilience Award and the prestigious designation of World's Leading City Destination for Manila. Remarkably, the Philippines was one of only five nations worldwide to earn the WTA's inaugural citation.

Further solidifying its global presence, the Philippines made history by assuming the role of Vice President for East Asia and the Pacific at the UNWTO General Assembly. This esteemed position, maintained for over two decades, underscores the country's significance in the global tourism arena. At the 25th UNWTO General Assembly in Uzbekistan, the DOT chief represented the Philippines among nearly 150 other nations.

As such, the Philippines was appointed Chair of the Commission on East Asia and the Pacific. As chair, the country is set to host the Joint Commission Meeting of the Commissions for East Asia and the Pacific and the Commission for South Asia in Cebu later this year.