With 5.45-M international tourist arrivals, PH exceeds 2023 target - DOT

The Department of Tourism (DOT)  on Tuesday, announced that they have exceeded their target of 4.8 million international tourist arrivals for 2023.

In a post shared on social media on Tuesday, the DOT said there were a total of 5,450,557 international tourist arrivals from January 1 to December 31, 2023.

“Looking ahead to 2024, our commitment to the transformation of Philippine tourism is unwavering. Guided by our National Tourism Development Plan 2023-2028, we’re poised for a thriving tourism landscape, evident in surpassing our targets in international and domestic arrivals and receipts, fostering economic prosperity and further job creation for our people,” said DOT Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco in a statement on Monday.

Earlier, the DOT announced that the country reached the 4.8 million targeted arrivals in November with over 4,822,530 visitors and totaled up to P404 billion in foreign visitor receipts.

Of the 2023 arrivals, 91.80 percent or 5,003,475 are foreigners while the remaining are 447,082 overseas Filipinos.

More than 25% or 1,439,336 of the arrivals came from South Korea, which held its spot as the Philippines' main source of international visitors.

This was followed by the United States with 903,299 tourists (16.57 percent) visiting the country; Japan with 305,580 (5.61 percent); Australia with 266,551 (4.89 percent); and China with 263,836 (4.84 percent).

Ranking sixth was Canada followed by Taiwan, the United Kingdom, Singapore, and Malaysia.

Frasco said the 2023 visitor receipts also show that the tourism industry is “recovering faster than expected.”

From January to Dec. 31, 2023, the country also generated an estimated PHP482.54 billion in international tourism revenue, more than double the receipts it recorded in 2022.

On Tuesday, the agency said the 2023 international visitor receipts totaled P482.54 billion. The figure, according to the DOT, reached the pre-pandemic revenue levels of 2019.

For 2024, the DOT is aiming to take a step closer to the pre-pandemic arrival numbers with a target of 7.7 million arrivals.

“What I can assure you is that we will push as hard as we can and fully activate our convergences with other government agencies in order to breach this target and bring us closer to pre-pandemic numbers even as we grapple with many forces beyond our control, globally, and locally,” Frasco said.

"The world has loved the Philippines in 2023, and we are very grateful to our friends from all over the world who have affirmed na 'yung Pilipinas po ay nagpapatuloy bilang World's Leading Beach and Dive Destination, Asia's Best Cruise Destination, pati na run po 'yung isa ang Pilipinas among vie countries in the world awarded as a Global Tourism Resilience awardee," she added.—RF, GMA Integrated News