More than 200K int’l passengers arrived in February after Philippines opened borders — BI

More than 200,000 international passengers have arrived in the Philippines after the country opened its borders to leisure travel last month, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said Thursday.

BI Commissioner Jaime Morente said over 40% increase of international arriving travelers were recorded in February compared to January this year.

Morente reported that the total number of arriving passengers increased to 211,899 from only 150,740 last January.

"This is also more than 130-percent higher than the 91 thousand passenger arrivals in February of 2021," the BI commissioner said in a statement.

Meanwhile, BI port operations chief Carlos Capulong said among the 211,899 arriving passengers, 154,661 were Filipinos.

"72-percent of those who arrived last February were returning Filipinos. This is followed by Americans with 21,383 arrivals, Canadians with 4,026, and British with 3,250," Capulong said.

The BI port operations assured the public that the agency is prepared for the continued increase of travelers in airports and stations.

“The foresight on international travel is getting better. We have deployed enough officers and improved our e-gate services at our international ports to guarantee efficiency at the BI stations," he added.

Morente also expressed his optimism as the country reopened for leisure travel for the recovery of the tourism industry.

"After almost two years of battling the effects of travel bans and border closures, it is a breath of fresh air to see families and couples reunite once again. I am positive that with our continued adherence to health protocols, we are slowly on the road to recovery," he said.

The country opened its borders for business and leisure travelers on February 10, the first time in two years since the pandemic hit.

Only fully vaccinated foreign nationals may be allowed entry, subject to the presentation of required documents as set by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID). — Richa Noriega/RSJ, GMA News