The Philippines’ tourism industry has generated P245 ($4.8 billion) billion in foreign exchange receipts from international visitors during the first six months of the year, the Tourism Department said Friday.
The total receipts from the six-month arrivals increased 17.6 percent from P203.8 billion in revenues year-on-year.
Data provided by department show the highest monthly receipts of P42 billion in January. Spending in June, meanwhile, reached an estimated P38 billion, up 30.6 percent on year, while tourist per capita expenditure increased to $1,086.61 or 31 percent higher than a year ago.
The average daily expenditure and average length of stay per tourist reached $120.60 and 9.01 nights, respectively, up 28.6 percent and 1.81 percent on year, based on data from arrival and departure cards, shipping manifests and visitor sample survey.
“Tourism in 2018 was responsible for 5.4 million jobs in 2018, contributing 12.7 percent or P2.2 trillion to the country’s gross domestic product,” said Tourism secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat.