The Philippines exceeded its goal of having 4.8 million international tourist arrivals before the end of 2023.
This was announced by Department of Tourism (DOT) Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco during the agency’s first Philippine Golf Tourism Summit held at Grand Hyatt Manila on Tuesday, Nov. 28.
“As of Nov. 27, 2023, the country has registered a total of 4,822,530 million visitors who visited the country, with foreign tourists still comprising the bulk of arrivals by 91.88 percent or 4,430,725, while the remaining 8.12 percent or 391,805 are returning overseas Filipinos,” the agency said in its statement.
According to the tourism department, South Korea remains the Philippines’ top source market for foreign arrivals which brought in 1,271,602 tourists or 26.37 percent of the total.
The USA came in second with 797,181 tourists (16.53 percent), followed by Japan with 272,735 tourists (5.66 percent), China with 242,107 tourists (5.02 percent), and Australia with 225,464 tourists (4.68 percent).
Frasco said the agency targeted 4.8 million international arrivals by the end of 2023.
“We have now welcomed over 4.82 million international visitors, contributing an impressive P404 billion in foreign visitor receipts to date underscoring the value of tourism to our economy,” she stated.
“Tourism continues to drive growth and provide income and jobs nationwide.”
Frasco shared the report of the country’s national economic managers, which indicates that the Philippines' second-largest source of economic growth is tourism.
“This cements our position as one of the strongest pillars of the Philippine economy that employs no less than 5.35 million Filipinos in the tourism industry sector, ensuring jobs, livelihood, and the well-being of communities all over the country,” she went on.
The chief of the tourism department said that the other factors that contributed to these accomplishments included the relaxation of visa requirements, the construction of tourist rest areas, the creation of the first-ever multi-platform tourist call center, the building of tourism roads, the growth of dive, heritage, and cultural tourism caravans, the development of cruise, education, medical, gastronomy, and sports tourism,among others.
Present during the event were tourism and golf industry leaders and stakeholders.
The summit was organized by the agency’s Office of Product Development of Golf Tourism and Special Projects.
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