Things are going on up and up for the Department of Tourism targets. The holiday season has helped gain precious ground on the targeted number of tourists that have visited the country. Department of Tourism’s (DOT) year-end tally wraps up exceeding expectations with 2.65 million international visitor arrivals.
This also means that there was revenue in tourism that came into the country at PHP 208.96 billion or USD 3.68 billion based on DOT’s analytics team. It added that the new record has nearly 1 million additional visitors entering the country than the year-end target.
DOT further digressed, “This was based on the monitoring conducted by the DOT from the time the country reopened its borders for all types of travellers in February until Dec. 31, 2022, where Filipinos abroad were expected to flock back to the country for the annual Christmas and New Year celebrations as well as visits from foreign tourists who chose the Philippines as their holiday destination.”
Further combing through the details of the DOT data, this also reflected the total of international visitors reaching 2.65 million last year and the number of returning Filipinos came in at a total of 628,445.
Interestingly, the tourists came from countries which have already shown good figures in the past. The bulk of the 2.02 million tourists were foreigners from the country’s top tourist markets, such as the United States (505,089), South Korea (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).
Along with the influx of more tourists, the DOT has also kept tabs on tourism-related jobs generated and this totals an estimated 5.23 million. There was also an increase in DOT-accredited tourism enterprises reaching 11,989 as of Dec. 29, 2022.
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2023 sees target at 4.8-M visitors
Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco issued a statement expressing, “Moments of great difficulty are also moments of great opportunity. 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 front-liners continue to offer the best of Filipino grace and hospitality to the world.”
She has also announced earlier on that the DOT has a target for 2023 of 4.8 million international visitors as its baseline and has strong hopes that this target will also be surpassed by 2023’s yearend report. With this optimistic outlook, DOT has already trained a total of 25,770 tourism stakeholders.
Economic revitalisation
Frasco further added, “We look forward to the continued convergence and collaboration of our tourism stakeholders—travellers, tourism players, national agencies, local governments and host communities—in propelling our industry to the heights of becoming a tourism powerhouse in Asia.”
She highlighted the government’s vision for the country’s tourism industry wherein it will be the catalyst for the Philippines’ economic resurgence not only in terms of job opportunities but investments as well.
“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,” added Frasco
This is a great way to start 2023! The country has heaved into a team effort to get COVID-19 under control and we are starting to see the fruits of all our efforts. Tourism is always a great way to shoot several birds with one stone, especially when it comes to getting the economy going well again. Let us hear from you guys on how you find this news. Just comment down below anytime.
