The Philippines ended 2023 with more than 5 million tourist arrivals and more than PHP480 billion ($8.6 billion) in international tourism receipts, Department of Tourism (DOT) Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco indicated.
According to data published by the DOT, about 5.4 million tourists entered the country last year, 650,000 more than the administration’s target of 4.8 million international visitors projected to visit the country for the entire year.
South Korea remained the Philippine’s main source of international visitors, representing 26.41 percent of the total, or 1,439,336 tourists, followed by the United States with 903,299 tourists and Japan with 305,580.
The country now aims to draw in 7.7 million international visitors in 2024, a number that would still fall short of pre-pandemic times.
At the same time, the country’s international tourism receipts have surged at an estimate of PHP482.54 billion ($8.67 billion) in 2023, an increase of 124.87 percent compared with the PHP214.58 billion ($3.85 billion) estimated visitor receipts from the same period last year.
In 2019 the DOT recorded PHP482.15 billion ($8.67 billion) in international tourism receipts.
In May 2023, President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. approved the National Tourism Development Plan (NTDP) 2023 to 2028, the administration’s blueprint and development framework for the tourism industry.
This plan included set goals, such as the improvement of the country’s tourism infrastructure and accessibility.
