The Philippines posted a net trade surplus for the first time in 15 years in 2023.
Trade surplus means spending by international travelers to the Philippines is greater than what Filipinos spend overseas.
The Department of Tourism (DOT) in a statement cited data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) which showed the country recorded $2.45 billion in net trade surplus in travel services from a $743 million deficit in 2022 and breached the $1.93 billion surplus last recorded in 2007.
Travel services export receipts reached $9.1 billion last year, which is more than double the level in 2022 of $4.17 billion and was about 93.2 percent of travel export receipts level recorded pre-pandemic in 2019.
The BSP report said travel services in 2023 contributed 18.9 percent to the country’s total service exports of $48.28 billion.
Last year, the Philippines welcomed 5.45 million international visitors, breaching its year-end target of 4.8 million. Of that number, 91.8 percent were foreigners, while the rest were overseas-based Filipinos.
“We welcome the latest numbers from the BSP report which sets an optimistic tone not just for the DOT, but to all our tourism stakeholders, and tourism leaders and shakers, even those who came before me, who have all worked tirelessly and shown nothing but resilience in the past difficult years. As we continue to work towards achieving our targets for 2024 and the years to come , we endeavor to cement tourism’s position as a major economic pillar for the country,” said DOT Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco.
