By Othel V. Campos
The tourism sector posted a strong recovery, as international receipts from February to December jumped 24 times to P208.9 billion from P8.5 billion in 2021, data show.
The Department of Tourism said in a report Monday, international visitor arrivals reached 2.65 million in 2022, exceeding the 1.7 million target for the year by nearly 1 million more tourists. The agency did not record arrivals in January as leisure travel had yet to resume at that time.
International visitor arrivals are expected to further increase in 2023 to 4.8 million, according to the DOT.
Tourism Secretary Kristina Frasco said the industry gains achieved in the first six months of the Marcos administration helped increase confidence in international and local travel.
“On behalf of the Department of Tourism, we wish you all a New Year filled with abundance, optimism and hope. Moments of great difficulty are also moments of great opportunity,” she said.
“In the past, we have overcome a global pandemic, survived various calamities and thrived through a host of many other challenges, yet, the Philippine tourism industry has managed to exceed expectations and our tourism partners and frontliners continue to offer the best of Filipino grace and hospitality to the world,” said Frasco.
Data from the DOT showed that of the total international visitor arrivals in 2022, about 2 million tourists were foreigners while 628, 445 represented returning or visiting migrant Filipinos.
The country’s top tourist markets in 2022 were the US with 505,089 arrivals; South Korea with 428,014; Australia, 137,974; Canada, 121,413; the United Kingdom, 101,034; Japan, 99,557; Singapore, 53,448; India, 51,542; Malaysia, 46,805; and China, 39,627.
China used to be among the top three markets before the pandemic, but it was only in December that China lifted border restrictions among its travelers.
The Philippines started to reopen its borders for all types of travelers in February 2022.
The DOT also expected a surge in arrivals during the holiday season from Filipinos abroad who were eager to spend Christmas and New Year with family and relatives.
Frasco said the efforts made by the DOT, together with its partners, were part of the administration’s vision to further develop tourism as a catalyst for economic resurgence, providing jobs and attracting more investments.
“Therefore, we welcome 2023 with gratitude and excitement for Philippine Tourism to bounce back stronger than ever. We shall welcome with warmth and that distinct Filipino smile visitors from all over the world as they visit our award-winning beaches, experience the richness of our culture, and enjoy our world-renowned Filipino Brand of service excellence,” she said.
She said the sector generated an estimated 5.23 million tourism-related jobs in 2022. Accredited tourism enterprises climbed to 11,989, with a total of 25,770 tourism stakeholders trained.
“We look forward to the continued convergence and collaboration of our tourism stakeholders—travelers, tourism players, national agencies, local government units, and host communities—in propelling our industry to the heights of becoming a tourism powerhouse in Asia,” Frasco said.
