Tourism receipts rose 21 percent in 2019 following a record number of visitor arrivals that year.
The Department of Tourism (DOT) in a statement said receipts tallied to $9.31 billion in 2019 from $7.71 billion in 2018. Some 8.2 million foreign tourists visited the country last year.
The DOT said a foreign guest incurred $128.35 average daily expenditure while the average per capita expenditure for a whole trip is pegged at about $1,218.04 on an average length of stay of 9.49 nights.
The DOT added double-digit growth in visitor spending was observed from February to December, with August exhibiting the highest growth at 31.45 percent.
The largest volume was recorded in December at $872.13 million.
The country’s consistent top visitor market South Korea posted the highest tourist spending of about $2.6 billion, followed by China, $2.33 billion and the United States $1.21 billion.
