IMMIGRATION Commissioner Jaime Morente yesterday said the agency expects a gradual increase in tourist arrivals this year following the decision of the government to reopen the country’s borders on February 10 as well as the decline in COVID-19 cases.
Morente said they are projecting a steady increase in the number of tourists as the country slowly reopens for international tourism after nearly two years of imposed restrictions due to the pandemic.
“Last year we saw only 1.4 million arrivals, which is significantly lower than the 3.6 in 2020,” Morente said, citing figures from the agency’s airport operations division.
“The numbers were dismal, because pre-pandemic we were hitting 16.9 million arrivals,” he added.
The BI also reported that tourist extension applications also dropped by almost 53 percent last year.
He said the agency’s Tourist Visa Section only processed a total of 111,781 applications for extension of stay of tourists in 2021, compared to the 240,276 similar applications the office received in 2020.
“However, we remain optimistic that 2022 will be a better year for international travel, especially now that we will reopen our borders. Hopefully, little by little, international tourism regains momentum,” the BI chief added.
The country is set to open its borders on February 10, initially allowing fully vaccinated nationals from visa-free countries to enter upon the presentation of required documents.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic started in March 2020, the country has shut down its borders to tourists. Only foreigners with valid Philippine visas were allowed to enter the country.
