THE Department of Tourism (DOT) still regards 2024 an “exceptional” year for Philippine tourism for outperforming pre-pandemic figures in terms of tourism receipt.
At a year-end briefing in Makati City on Dec. 17, Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco said the country has earned an estimated P712 billion in tourism spending since the beginning of 2024, representing a 119 percent recovery from P600.01 billion in 2019 and an increase from last year’s P697.46 billion.
From an average of nine nights, tourists are also now staying over 11 nights in the country, DOT estimates show.
“We have the highest tourism per capita spend in the ASEAN at over USD2,000 and we have seen that over 70 percent of the tourists that come into the country are repeat visitors,” Frasco said.
“We anticipate that this can only further expand, considering that we are now able to offer a more diverse array of tourism products and more destinations, whether it’s beach, leisure, adventure, health and wellness, gastronomy, cruise, and other such tourism activities,” she added.
The Philippines targets to reach at least 7.7 million foreign tourists by yearend, a number now seemingly unlikely to be achieved with arrivals still at 5.64 million as of Dec. 15.
Frasco noted that the sector had faced many challenges since the projections were announced, including inflationary pressures, geopolitical issues, climate-related disasters, and many other headwinds “over which the DOT has absolutely no control”.
With these, especially with the delays in visa liberalization for the Chinese market, the DOT is being “pragmatic” in its projections.
“While it has been the practice to only look at arrivals and automatically compare with our competitors as the singular measure of performance, I would urge a wider perspective on the full faculty of facts,” Frasco said.
She added: “Focus on the numbers that matter: visitor receipts, tourism spend, length of stay, tourism employment, for these are what drive our economy and employ our people, and in all of these numbers, the Philippines is doing exceptionally well.”
Meanwhile, tourism had been a major economic driver, with a contribution of about P4.34 trillion or 17.9 percent to the GDP in 2023.
Citing the April 2024 Labor Force Survey, Frasco also touted that at least 16.4 million Filipinos are employed in tourism, representing 34 percent of the total employment in the first quarter, benefiting directly or indirectly from the industry.
The DOT has been investing in a number of programs to entice more tourists to visit the Philippines and improve their overall travel experience. (PNA)
