Philippines eyes a million American tourist arrivals in 2024 -DOT

NEW YORK CITY - The Philippines is looking to increase the number of American visitors to the country this year to about a million visitors amid renewed ties between the two allied nations.

In a dialogue with Filipino journalists participating in the Friends, Allies, Partners Program at the Philippine Consulate in New York, Tourism Attaché Francisco Lardizabal said that while American tourists ranked second only to South Koreans in terms of visitor numbers, “the US contribution was bigger… in terms of receipts.”

Data from the Department of Tourism showed South Koreans accounted for 26.62% or 1.45 million visitors to the Philippines out of the total 5.45 million foreign tourists in 2023.

The United States came in second, accounting for 16.57% or 903,299 visitors.

However, in terms of visitor receipts, tourism revenues from Americans were the highest at P35.46 billion, followed by Australians at P17.74 billion and South Koreans at P16.41 billion.

“This is the importance of the American market. While the arrivals are fewer, the contribution to the tourism receipts is bigger,” Lardizabal said.

“Because Americans spend higher and stay longer,” he added.

For this year, the tourism attaché said the DOT expected about “one million” visitors from the US, growing the number by “something like 15% more or less.”

Lardizabal said the majority of American travelers - 55.71% - were former Filipinos, while the remaining 44% were mainstream Americans.

“Those who are former Filipinos, of course, they are being motivated by… they have friends and relatives [in the Philippines]," he said.

"What they are looking for is, what did the Philippines change when I left? Because that is what they want to see here in the Philippines… and then they venture around.” 

He added that Filipinos in the US would go around the Philippines.

Meanwhile, mainstream American visitors looked for a “more immersive dining experience.”

“They want to know the story about the food, how it’s prepared… or even having culinary experience by learning how to cook it,” Lardizabal said.

Among the top destinations for American visitors were Boracay, Palawan, and Siargao, according to the Tourism official. — DVM, GMA Integrated News