The Philippines has pushed past the three million international visitor mark for the year as it closes in on the government’s full-year goal of 4.8 million arrivals.
According to information from the Department of Tourism (DOT), international visitor arrivals reached 3,000,079 as of 19 July 2023., with tourism receipts since 1 January rising by 502% to Php212.5 billion (US$3.88 billion).
“We are glad to report that in roughly seven months, we have already achieved the 3 million international visitor arrivals mark, reflecting continued robust recovery and the gains of the Marcos Administration towards the resurgence of Philippine tourism, ” said Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco.
“Tourism provides employment and livelihood to millions of Filipinos. We are grateful for the renewed interest worldwide in the Philippines which offers a multitude of reasons to love travel across our islands. We thank as well our fellow Filipinos who continue to travel domestically, supporting our local communities and families who are all part of the tourism value chain.”
The DOT said that 91.4% of the international arrivals, or 2,740,802 people, were foreign tourists, while the remaining 8.6% or 259,277 people were overseas Filipinos.
By source market, South Korea was responsible for 24.7% of arrivals (741,658) followed by the United States with 18.4% (550,569), Australia with 4.9% (146,062), Japan with 4.8% (143,227) and Canada with 4.4% (132,018).
Only 129,077 representing 4.3% were from mainland China.
