The figure was up 0.96 per cent in year-on-year terms.
The Philippines.- The Department of Tourism (DOT) has reported that the Philippines received 1,167,908 visitors in the first two months of the year. That’s an increase of 0.96 per cent when compared to the same period last year.
South Korea remained the biggest source market, accounting for 25.31 per cent of arrivals (295,611). However, the figure was down 10.6 per cent when compared to last year. The United States was the second-biggest source market with 229,836 arrivals (17.7 per cent), up 11.6 per cent.
Japan ranked third, providing 83,208 arrivals or 6.4 per cent of all visitors. The figure was up 11.6 per cent year-on-year. There were 65,145 arrivals from Canada, 61,564 from Australia, 53,545 from China, 41,388 from Taiwan, 34,451 from the United Kingdom, 29,352 from Singapore and 21,252 from France.
The DOT reported over PHP65bn (US$1bn) in tourism revenues in January. That’s an increase of 78.81 per cent in year-on-year terms. The figure surpasses pre-Covid-19 levels by 136.1 per cent in US dollars and 151.46 per cent in Philippine pesos.
Tourism secretary Christina Garcia-Frasco said, “The recovery of Philippine tourism from the period of the pandemic in terms of revenues translates to thousands of jobs created for Filipinos, providing livelihood opportunities for many, especially in our rural and underserved areas.”
In 2024, the Philippines received 5.44 million tourist arrivals. That’s an increase of 8.7 per cent. Some 91.4 per cent of arrivals were foreign tourists, including Filipinos residing overseas.
Analysts at Maybank Securities have forecast that tourism in the Philippines could fully recover to 2019 pre-pandemic levels in 2025. Analyst Ronalyn Joyce Lalimo said ongoing infrastructure improvements, including airport upgrades, could also help boost tourism from markets like South Korea, the United States, Japan, and Australia, which have strong historical and cultural connections with the Philippines.
