The Philippines has already received about 80 percent of its intended target of foreign tourists, Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco said at the opening of the 2023 Philippine Travel Exchange (PHITEX) in Cebu.
According to the Philippine News Agency, more than 3.87 million foreign tourists entered the country this year as of September 18, or about 80.77 percent of the 4.8 million foreign tourists that the Department of Tourism (DOT) targets to reach by the end of the year.
In the same period, the Philippines generated PHP316.9 billion ($5.5 billion) in revenue from tourists coming mostly from South Korea, the United States and Japan.
In the same speech, Frasco announced that the DOT is adding 15 more rest areas across the country in 2024 to ensure quality travel experience for tourists.
All in all, the Tourism Secretary, underlined that the Marcos administration would continue working to transform the Philippines as a “tourism powerhouse in Asia”.
Last August, the Philippine government also began processing e-Visa applications of foreign tourists coming from China to boost arrivals from the coveted market.
In the first eight months of 2023, South Korea was to be the top inbound tourist source, with over 940,000 visitors, or 28 percent of the total.
