The Department of Tourism (DOT) expressed optimism over the further increase in tourist arrivals in the country, following the recent reopening of the country’s borders February 10 that saw 9,283 inbound tourists as of February 14.
This as AirAsia Philippines reported a 38- percent increase in forward bookings for the next three months, indicative of a rebound as the country enters summer, the peak of domestic travel.
In a statement, DOT Secretary Berna Romulo-Puyat said the agency is looking at a gradual pace in the influx of tourists which will help in the recovery of the sector.
“We are excited to see a revival in our local tourism,” Puyat said.
Of the 9,283 arrivals, 4,209 are balikbayans while the 5,074 are foreign tourists.
Tourists from the US make up the largest chunk of foreign tourists during the four-day period with 2,227 arrivals; this is followed by 661 from Canada; 404 from Australia; 344 from United Kingdom; 189 from South Korea, 169 from Japan; and 168 from Germany.
Puyat also highlighted the country’s readiness for the influx of foreign travelers further noting that more than 90 percent of its target tourism workers nationwide are fully-vaccinated.
Meanwhile, AirAsia spokesperson Steve Dailisan said travel is set to rebound this year and we are in full throttle to maintain the momentum.
“We are opening local and international routes to cater to the rising demand for travel as more countries relax border protocols,” Dailisan said.
The airline observed an 18-percent rise in 15 to 30 days booking especially for top summer destinations.
Boracay, dominates the list of top guest destinations with a 24 percent increase — almost doubling last week’s 15 percent. Cebu, Tagbilaran, Panglao, Kalibo and Tacloban also made the top 5 most-booked destinations.
AirAsia is set to open two domestic routes, Dumaguete and Roxas starting April and also restarting its regional flights in Bali, Indonesia and Bangkok, Thailand in March and Incheon, South Korea in April.
Starting February 10, international travelers from 157 countries who have a visa-free agreement with the Philippines now only have to present their valid vaccination cards and a negative RT-PCR test result. Facility-based quarantine was also scrapped making travel to the Philippines convenient for fully-jabbed guests.
DOT data showed there are 7.55 million tourism workers in the Philippines. Before the pandemic, the tourism sector was contributing P2.51 trillion or nearly 13 percent of the country’s GDP but dropped to P973.31 billion at the height of the global pandemic in 2020. – Irma Isip
