The Philippines surpassed its international visitor arrivals in 2023, recording 5.45 million foreign tourists that contributed an estimated P482.54 billion to the economy, Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco said.
The government had set a target of 4.8 million foreign tourist arrivals for 2023.
For this year, the Department of Tourism has set target of 7.7 million international visitor arrivals.
South Korea remains the main source of foreign tourists, accounting for 1.44 million visitors.
The US contributed 903,299 to the list of foreign tourists who visited the country last year. It was followed by Japan with 305,580, Australia with 266,551, and China with 263,836.
The tourism chief likewise emphasized that the local tourism industry is recovering faster than expected.
Total international tourism receipts last year was more than double the P214.58 billion posted in 2022, and slightly better than the pre-pandemic level estimated at P482.15 billion even if arrivals only accounted for 66 percent of the all-time high arrivals recorded in 2019.
“These numbers speak very well of the performance of the tourism industry under the Marcos Administration. Since we took office, we have set our goals for the industry not only in terms of international visitor arrivals but most importantly, the number of Filipinos, including their families, who will benefit from the opportunities generated by our constant and continuous efforts to make the industry prosper more than what we have aimed for,” said Secretary Frasco.
“We assure the President, including our partners from the public and private sectors, that we will continue to realize the vision of this administration to make tourism a catalyst for economic growth and resurgence,” she added. The National Tourism Development Plan 2023 to 2028, the administration’s blueprint and development framework for the tourism industry, sets seven strategic goals for the sector, including improving tourism infrastructure and accessibility; enhancing digitalization and connectivity; and diversifying tourism portfolio through multidimensional tourism.
