Tourist arrivals reached 5.65 million as of December 17, data from the Department of Tourism (DOT) showed, still short of the 7.7 million target for 2024.
Receipts as of December 15 reached P712 billion, up 119 percent from P600 billion reported in 2019 before the pandemic, Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco said in a press conference.
Visitor-spending in the country was the highest among key competitor markets at $2,073 average per tourist, Frasco said.
Tourists are staying longer so far this year, up to 11 nights from nine in 2019 she added.
Over 70 percent of the arrivals were repeat visitors.
Receipts are a better measure than arrivals, Frasco said, noting that “quality” is better than quantity.
In her speech, Frasco said tourism contributed P3.36 trillion to the economy in 2023. It accounted for 8.6 percent of the country’s GDP that year.
This is a dramatic leap from 5.1 percent in 2020.
“Surpassing its 4.8 million (visitor arrivals) target, we welcomed over 5.45 million international visitors in 2023,” Frasco said.
Tourism employment reached 6.21 million, and accounted for 12.9 percent of total national employment. Tourism Direct Gross Value Added reached P2.08 trillion, reflecting a robust 47.9 percent growth rate.
The industry achieved a net trade surplus in travel services of $2.45 billion, the highest in 15 years according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.
