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Manila Bulletin devider Business devider Trade & Industry devider PH tourist arrivals hit 1.2 M in Jan-Feb

PH tourist arrivals hit 1.2 M in Jan-Feb

Published Mar 7, 2024 06:23 am

At A Glance

  • PH international tourist arrivals to the Philippines have tallied 1,227,815 as from January to March 5 this year.
  • The figure is 22.86 percent higher than the 999,390 arrivals received by the country in the same period in 2023.
  • Foreign tourist arrivals account for 1,160,129 or 94.49 percent. Meanwhile, 67,686 or 5.51 percent consist of Overseas Filipinos (OFs).
  • South Korea remains the country's top source market for visitors with 349,956 or 28.50 percent of the total, followed by the United States of America (USA) with 195,603 or 15.93 percent, China with 85,876 (6.99%), Japan with 73,159 (5.96%), and Canada landing on the fifth spot with 50,555 (4.12%).

International visitor arrivals to the Philippines breached the 1.2-million mark in just a little over the first two months of 2024 or more than 22 percent higher than the same period last year, the Department of Tourism (DOT) reported.

Frasco.jpg
Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco  at the Philippine Pavillion at the Internationale Tourismus-Börse (ITB) 2024 Convention in Berlin, Germany on March 2, . 

Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco announced Tuesday, March 5, the latest tourist arrivals figure at the Philippine Pavillion at the Internationale Tourismus-Börse (ITB) 2024 Convention in Berlin, Germany. 

Based on the DOT’s report, international tourist arrivals to the Philippines have tallied 1,227,815 as from January to March 5 this year.

“I would like to express my profound gratitude first to all our Philippine sellers who continue to champion Philippine tourism. As of today, [March 5], the Philippines has received over 1.2 million international visitors: a robust indication of the future of Philippine tourism. Cheers to all the reasons to celebrate and Love the Philippines,” said Frasco as she offered a toast to the successful first day of the country’s participation in the ITB 2024.

According to Frasco, the figure is 22.86 percent higher than the 999,390 arrivals received by the country in the same period in 2023.

Foreign tourist arrivals took the lion’s share, with 1,160,129 or 94.49 percent. Meanwhile, 67,686 or 5.51 percent consist of Overseas Filipinos (OFs).

In terms of international visitor arrivals, South Korea remains the country’s top source market for visitors with 349,956 or 28.50 percent of the total, followed by the United States of America (USA) with 195,603 or 15.93 percent, China with 85,876 (6.99%), Japan with 73,159 (5.96%), and Canada landing on the fifth spot with 50,555 (4.12%).

Meanwhile, Australia took the sixth spot with 50,488 (4.11%), Taiwan with 42,955 (3.50%), United Kingdom with 30,507 (2.48%), Singapore with 25,253 (2.06%), and Germany with 20,816 (1.70%).

Notably, the DOT is also seeing an increase in terms of estimated visitor receipts.

Based on data from the Visitor Sample Survey, estimated tourist receipts for January 2024 have totaled  652.26 million, or 4.84 percent higher than the USD 622.14 million recorded in January 2023.

It may be recalled that in 2023, the Philippines received over 5.45 million international visitor arrivals, successfully breaching the 4.8 million arrivals target set by the industry. This year, the country has a baseline target of 7.7 million arrivals.

The tourism chief is in Germany to lead the DOT and the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) Philippines in bringing the country's biggest delegation yet to the ITB 2024, the world’s largest travel trade show.

Close to 60 delegates composed of co-exhibitors from the public and private sector joined the delegation led by Secretary Frasco and TPB Philippines Chief Operating Officer (COO) Margarita  Nograles, including representatives from hotel and resort enterprises, destination management companies, travel and tour agencies, government agencies such as the Philippine Retirement Authority (PRA) and the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA), as well as the local government units of Bohol, Camiguin, Siquijor, and  Sipalay, Negros Occidental.

The Philippine pavilion, designed with local elements from mother of pearl to bamboo print weaves, hosted business-to-business (B2B) meetings of the participating sellers from 28 private companies and booth visitors from different regions of the world, ensuring that the presence of the Philippines is sustained for its various important international visitor source markets.

The spotlight was placed on the award-winning destinations of the Philippines and hidden gems from the islands of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, including Bohol, Siquijor, Cebu, Camiguin, and Ilocos Sur.

 

 

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