Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco. (Photo courtesy: Department of Tourism)

QUEZON CITY, (PIA) -- The Department of Tourism (DOT) recorded a total of 5,450,557 international visitors in 2023, surpassing the 4.8 million projected number of international arrivals for the said year. 

Out of the 5.4 million visitors, 5,003, 475 or 91.80 percent are foreigners while the remaining 447,082 or 8.20 percent are overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). 

In terms of the top source countries, South Korea topped the list for delivering 1,439,336 foreign tourists to the Philippines. It was followed by the United States with 903,299 tourists, Japan with 305,580, Australia with 266,551, and China with 263,836. Other source countries include Canada, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, Singapore, and Malaysia. 

Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco underscored the way in which the tourism industry of the country is slowly making its path towards sustainable development. 

This, as the Philippines reached an estimated 66 percent recovery rate for international visitor arrivals since the earliest peak of the COVID-19 pandemic period. 

“These numbers speak very well of the performance of the tourism industry under the Marcos Administration. Since we took office, we have set our goals for the industry not only in terms of international visitor arrivals but most importantly, the number of Filipinos, including their families, who will benefit from the opportunities generated by our constant and continuous efforts to make the industry prosper more than what we have aimed for,” Frasco stated. 

The DOT also recorded a 124.87 percent increase in international tourism receipts from P214.58 billion in 2022 to P482.54 billion in 2023. These receipts are the sum of funds spent by international visitors to pay for transportation as well as other goods and services in their destination country.  

“Guided by our National Tourism Development Plan 2023-2028, we are poised for a thriving tourism landscape, evident in surpassing our targets in international and domestic arrivals and receipts, fostering economic prosperity and further job creation for our people,” the tourism chief further noted. 

The flagship projects and programs of the DOT in 2023 consisted of the establishment of Tourist Rest Areas (TRAs), implementation of the Tourism Road Infrastructure Program (TRIP), and the localization of the Hop-On-Hop-Off (HOHO) Travel initiative. 

These platforms are all anchored on enhancing the tourism landscape of the country by improving the access of people to tourism and providing a seamless and a more connected tourist experience. 

The country’s pioneeer Tourist Assistance Call Center also marked the success of the aggressive tourism development campaign. Since its launch in October 2023, the centralized multi-platform assistance center completed 2,497 transactions serving both local and foreign tourists. 

By 2024, the DOT is expected to continue realizing its vision of making the Philippines a tourism powerhouse in Asia. 

This year, the national tourism department set a baseline target of 7.7 million international visitor arrivals. (JMP/PIA-NCR)