MANILA, 12 July 2024: The Philippines’ estimated visitor receipts ballooned to more than PHP280 billion in the first half of the year, the Department of Tourism (DOT) reported on Thursday.
Based on its statistical monitoring report, tourism earnings from inbound visitors were PHP282.17 billion from 1 January to 30 June 2024, or approximately 32.81% higher than the PHP212.47 billion revenue from the same period last year.
“ The significant increase in our tourism earnings to PHP282.17 billion in just the first half of the year is a testament to the government’s efforts to revitalise our tourism sector,” said DOT secretary Christina Garcia Frascco. “The 32.81% rise over last year’s figures showcases the growing appeal of the Philippines as a premier travel destination.”
Meanwhile, as of 10 July, 2024, the country welcomed 3,173,694 inbound tourists, of which 92.55% or 2,937,293 were foreigners, while the remaining 7.45% or 236,401 were overseas Filipinos.
South Korea remains the Philippines’ top source of foreign arrivals, delivering a solid 824,798 or 25.99% of the total number of visitors entering the country. The US comes second with 522,667 (16.47%), followed by China with 199,939 (6.30%), Japan with 188,805 (5.95%), and Australia with 137,391 (4.33%).
Taiwan, Canada, the UK, and neighbouring Southeast Asian nations, Singapore and Malaysia, took the sixth to 10th places in the top inbound tourism source markets.
The tourism chief is optimistic about furthering the industry’s gains. The 2024 Economic Impact Research (EIR) of the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) forecasts a “record-breaking” year for the Philippines’ travel and tourism industry in terms of economic contribution, employment, and visitor spending.
According to the important global private sector group, tourism’s contribution to the national economy is expected to reach PHP5.4 trillion this year, or around 25% year-on-year growth, surpassing the record-breaking achievement in 2019 by 7.1%.
Tourism employment is also projected to surpass 9.5 million jobs, translating to 20% of the national workforce.
The WTTC also forecasts that international and domestic visitor spending is set to break records this year, pegged at PHP715.6 billion and PHP3.7 trillion, respectively, exceeding 2019 levels by 5.7% and 1.8%.
