Visitor income increases by 33% in the first half of the year

Visitor receipts increased by 33% in the Ffirst six months of 2024, while the number of international arrivals stood at 3.17 million as of July 10, the Department of Tourism (DoT) said on Thursday.

In a statement, the DOT said tourism revenues from inbound visitors reached P282.17 billion during January to June, up about 32.8% from P212.47 billion a year earlier.

The country welcomed 3.17 million incoming tourists on July 10. The majority (92.6%) were foreign tourists, while the rest were overseas Filipinos.

The latest count represents 41.2% of this year’s target of 7.7 million international visitors.

“This increase over last year’s figures not only demonstrated the growing appeal of the Philippines as a premier travel destination, but also underscored the tangible benefits that tourism brings to our economy and our people,” said Tourism Secretary Maria Esperanza Christina G. Frasco.

South Korea remained the top source of foreign arrivals during the period, accounting for 26% or 824,798 of the total.

Rounding out the top five sources of inbound tourists are the United States with 522,667 (16.5%), China with 199,939 (6.3%), Japan with 188,805 (6%) and Australia with 137,391 (4.3%).

Other sources of tourists include Taiwan, Canada, the United Kingdom, Singapore and Malaysia.

Citing the World Travel & Tourism Council’s (WTTC) Economic Impact Research 2024, the DOT said 2024 is expected to be a “record-breaking” year for the Philippines in terms of the tourism sector’s economic contribution, employment and visitor expenditure.

In its report, WTTC predicted that the travel and tourism sector’s contribution to the national economy will reach $5.4 trillion this year.

This will be a 25% increase from last year and will exceed pre-pandemic levels in 2019 by 7.1%, the DOT said.

Data from the Philippine Statistical Authority shows that the direct gross value added of the tourism sector, which measures the value generated by various tourism-related activities, reached P2.09 trillion in 2023, accounting for 8.6% of the Gross domestic product.

Meanwhile, the WTTC estimated international and domestic visitor expenditures this year at P715.6 billion and P3.7 trillion, respectively. This will be 5.7% and 1.8% higher than 2019 levels respectively.

In 2023, tourism-related expenditures by non-residents amounted to P697.46 billion, while domestic visitor expenditures amounted to P2.67 trillion.

“In the second half of the year, we expect these numbers to increase, not only the revenue generated, but especially the number of Filipinos employed in tourism-related industries,” Ms. Frasco said.

At the MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) Con 2024 held at the SMX Convention Center in Clark, she said the tourism industry employed more than 6.21 million Filipinos last year, registering a growth of 6 .4% compared to 2022.

Citing WTTC, the DOT said the travel and tourism sector is expected to support 9.5 million jobs this year, or 20% of the national workforce.

Meanwhile, Ms. Frasco said the development of the MICE sector is crucial to generating employment and livelihoods for Filipinos.

“One of our strategic goals is to diversify our tourism portfolio by investing in high-quality tourism products, services and experiences such as MICE and other special tourism events,” she said.

She said MICE tourism represents a major opportunity as delegates spend an average of more than $573 per day, about five times more than the average leisure tourist.

“By positioning the Philippines as one of Asia’s premier MICE destinations, we are promoting economic growth and providing invaluable opportunities for expansion,” she added.

However, she said the country still faces challenges in positioning itself as a MICE powerhouse.

“That’s why we’ve been working with our fellow government agencies to ensure we improve accessibility and connectivity, as well as the opportunities for our communities to benefit from our thriving tourism sector,” she said. — Justine Irish D. Table