Tourist arrivals in the Philippines surged by 14 percent year-on-year in the first five months of this year, reaching 2.56 million, despite a double-digit decline in the arrivals of Filipinos living overseas, based on data from the Department of Tourism.
During the period from January to May, the number of overseas Filipinos arriving in the country witnessed a 10 percent decline year-on-year, totaling 169,301.
Leading the pack in terms of nationalities were visitors from South Korea, with Chinese tourists exhibiting the highest growth rate among all groups.
Arrivals from South Korea, constituting one-fourth of all foreign arrivals, saw a significant 22 percent increase, totaling 682,362. Meanwhile, arrivals from China surged 94 percent, reaching 168,628—the third-largest group of foreign visitors during the five-month period. Visitors from the U.S. were the second-largest group at 403,721, marking a modest 0.8 percent year-on-year increase.
Japanese tourists ranked as the fourth-largest group, experiencing a notable 45 percent increase in total arrivals, reaching 158,461.
May alone witnessed the lowest monthly arrivals thus far this year, totaling 402,336, with February recording the highest monthly arrivals at 551,217.
The Department of Tourism has set a tourism arrival target of 7.7 million for 2024, falling half-a-million short of the pre-pandemic level of 8.2 million.
In 2023, a total of 5.45 million international visitors visited the country, with 92 percent comprising international visitors and the remaining 8.2 percent, or 447,082, representing overseas Filipinos.
