Travelers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. (INQUIRER FILE PHOTO)
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines recorded 1.152,590 international tourist arrivals from Jan. 1 to March 15 this year.
Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco share the figure on Wednesday at the Tourism Stakeholders’ Summit, where the Department of Tourism unveiled at the event its National Tourism Development Plan (NTDP) for 2023 to 2028.
“In less than three months, we have already logged more than a million visitors into the Philippines. The country is well on its way to tourism recovery,” Frasco said in her speech.
“These figures build our confidence that we will, again, exceed our targets this year which we have set at 4.8 million international arrivals, and we fully foresee the full recovery of domestic recovery this year.”
This number is almost half of the 2.65 million international tourist arrivals recorded by DOT in 2022, which translated to P214 billion in revenues.
The 2023 target of 4.8 million international arrivals is part of the DOT’s goals in the NTDP, hoping to attain pre-pandemic domestic tourism levels in 2023.
NTDP as ‘guidebook’
In the same event, Frasco explained the significance of the NTDP, saying: “This will be the guidebook of the industry where we put in place mechanisms for sustainability for many many years to come.”
With the NTDP, Frasco was optimistic about the future of Philippine tourism, despite the country dropping two places in the World Economic Forum 2021 Travel and Tourism Development Index.
“The momentum for recovery and growth has begun. We’ve eased restrictions. We’ve continued to aggressively promote our destinations through the DOT’s constant and unyielding presence in various exhibits in the Philippines and all over the world. And people are traveling now, and are traveling with a vengeance,” Frasco said.
“By promoting the Philippines through the biggest international tourism and trade fairs across Asia and Europe, we are re-introducing the Philippines to the world, and bringing no less than the best of the best of the country and the Filipino people.”