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Friday, March 29, 2024

PH tourism posts recovery as visitor arrivals top 1.7M

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International visitor arrivals hit 1.7 million as of Oct. 10, breaching the full-year target and representing a huge jump from 163,879 registered in 2021, data from the Department of Tourism show.

“I bring with me the good news that tourism is now in the process of recovery. Because as of Oct. 10, we have already exceeded 1.7 million arrivals to the Philippines,” Tourism Secretary Kristina Frasco said at the general membership meeting of the Management Association of the Philippines Thursday.

Visitor arrivals started to rise in February when the government reopened the main gateways to foreign tourists and lifted most mobility restrictions implemented at the height of the pandemic in 2020 and 2021.

Data from the DOT showed that total arrivals plunged to 163,879 in 2021 from 1.48 million in 2020 which included strong numbers in the first quarter just before a lockdown was imposed nationwide.

International tourism picked up to more than 200,000 each month from May to September this year, as popular destinations such as Boracay, Cebu and Palawan attracted hordes of foreign and domestic visitors again.

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The top tourism markets this year are the United States, South Korea, Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom, according to the DOT.

Frasco said the sector’s greatest challenge is not only the recovery of the tourism industry, but also how to strengthen the industry from the ground up “to be able to improve the enabling mechanisms which would allow us to address the long standing challenges faced by the industry and to finally take our well-deserved spot not only in the ASEAN but on the global stage.”

She said to support this goal, the DOT crafted seven objectives that include improvements in tourism infrastructure and accessibility by building roads, bridges, improving water systems in key and emerging destinations and working closely with the Department of Information and Communications Technology to ensure connectivity and accessibility in emerging destinations.

The DOT will also improve and enhance the overall tourist experience in the Philippines and enhance marketing and promotion.

Frasco said the other goals are diversification of portfolio through multi-dimensional tourism, full maximization of domestic tourism and strengthening of tourism governance.

The seven objectives of the DOT are anchored in the three key strategies of connectivity, convenience and equality, she said.

The DOT would also address unemployment within the sector through tourism job fairs in collaboration with the Department of Labor and Employment.

The job fairs provided at least 8,000 job opportunities to unemployed tourism workers.

Data from DOLE showed some 12,000 displaced tourism workers were waiting to be absorbed again by hotels, resorts and other accommodation facilities.

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