BI records 72% drop in January to September passenger arrivals

MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has recorded a 72-percent decline in passenger arrivals from January to September as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to grip the travel industry.

Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente, in a statement on Sunday said 893,886 travelers entered the country during the first nine months of 2021.

During the same period in 2020, some 3.2 million passengers arrived in the country.

“This is a far cry from our pre-pandemic figures, wherein we reached 12.6 million arrivals already by the 3rd quarter,” Morente said.

“Statistics show that since January the volume of arrivals in our international ports has been averaging at only around 90,000 to 100,000 a month so we foresee this trend to persist until the end of this year,” he added.

Morente attributed the low numbers to the daily cap on passenger arrivals and travel restrictions.

Meanwhile, Morente said that 1.1 million travelers left the Philippines in the first three quarters of the  year, compared to 3.6 million last year.

“The bulk of these travelers were overseas Filipino workers as well as foreigners who were returning to their home countries,” he said.

Further, Morente is hopeful that the travel industry will be revived soon as travel restrictions gradually ease amid the ramped up COVID-19 vaccination rollout.

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