The volume of tourist arrivals in the country is expected to rebound in the coming months, after the Bureau of Immigration (BI) processed more than eight million Filipino and foreigner arrivals from January to August this year.
BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco said the bureau is expecting an increase in the number of visitors by October and December.
During these months, balikbayans, overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), and foreigners return home or visit the Philippines to reunite with their families and friends, and experience the local Christmas celebration.
Tansingco said the BI has processed a total of 8,117,286 Filipino and foreign passengers since January this year.
Prior to the pandemic, the agency recorded more than 11 million arrivals during the same period, a far cry from the 2,873,423 recorded during the same months in 2022.
“We are getting there. The significant increase in arriving passengers shows that tourism and international travel is already on the rebound,” Tansingco noted.
Tansingco said that the agency also supports efforts of the DOT in making things faster and simpler for arriving passengers, to give them a great experience from the moment they arrive in the country.
“We are procuring more e-gates for faster immigration processing. Through technology, we can work around the limited space that we have at the airports and improve passenger experience,” he added.