2m tourists visit Philippines since February – Tourism Secretary

Over two million tourists have visited the Philippines since February, raking in over $1.76 billion in revenue, Philippine Tourism Secretary, Christina Frasco, said on Tuesday.

The Department of Tourism (DOT) said 2,025,421 visitors arrived in the Philippines as of Nov. 14.

DOT data showed that 1,487,343 or 73.43 per cent of the total tourist arrivals were foreign tourists, while 538,078 or 26.57 per cent were overseas Filipinos.

Frasco said the number of tourists that came to visit was well beyond the 1.7 million the DOT projected.

“This goes to show that there is such a huge demand for travel into our beautiful country,” she said, adding that the government’s move to prioritise tourism is “on the right track to recovery”.

The DOT said the tourist arrivals from February to September this year raked in 100.7 billion pesos (roughly $1.76 billion) in revenue, a 1,938 per cent increase from 4.94 billion pesos (approximately $86 million) recorded in the same period last year.

Its data showed that the United States, South Korea, Australia, Canada and Britain were the primary sources of tourists that landed in the Philippines.

Other countries that made it to the top 10 list of foreign visitors were Japan, India, Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam.

Frasco stressed the need to continue implementing measures that will send the message to the world that the Philippines is welcoming more tourists.

She said the tourism department expects around 2.4 million tourists to visit the Philippines by the end of 2022, adding that the country, famous for pristine and white-sand beaches, remains one of the top destinations for tourists around the world.

In October, Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos said the tourism industry is one of the “high potential drivers for the transformation (of) the economy” as the country recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic. (Xinhua)

Do you have a flair for Citizenship Journalism? Share story(ies) of happenings in your area with The NewsZenith on WhatsApp: 08033668669 or thenewszenith@gmail.com