Foreign arrivals in the Philippines rose 10 percent in the first seven months of the year to 3.55 million, with visitors from neighboring countries in East Asia providing the boost, data from the Department of Tourism showed.
The DOT is aiming for a total 7.7 million foreign visitor arrivals for this year, a 41 percent increase from the 5.45 million recorded in 2023. With the end-July numbers, the country will have to attract around 4.2 million tourists in the next five months to reach the DOT target.
Visitors from South Korea were at the top of the list for the period January to July, rising 14 percent to a total 932,632.
China, Japan, and Taiwan all showed double-digit growth of 54 percent, 37 percent and 21 percent, respectively. The January-July total was 219,743 for China, 213,864 for Japan, and 136,334 for Taiwan.
The U.S. was the second biggest source of tourists during the seven-month period at 580,338 but that number hardly moved from the same period last year.
In July alone, total visitor arrivals reached 525,466 compared to 516,304 last year. Nearly a third of the July number, at 140,150, came from South Korea.
Visitors from China declined in July to 28,258 from 33,874 in the same month last year, apparently an offshoot of the government’s efforts against Philippine Overseas Gaming Operations.
