A tourist looks at FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 merchandise at a Duty Free Philippines store. (File photo from the official Facebook page of Department of Tourism)
MANILA, Philippines — Tourism in Philippines and international travel into the country are already getting back to normal.
This is the report of Bureau of Immigration on Tuesday based on arrival figures.
According to BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco, the bureau has processed the trips of more than 8 millions Filipino and foreign passengers from January to August 2023.
BI observed this number is a far cry compared to 2.8 million travelers recorded during the same duration in 2022.
“We are getting there,” Tansingco said in a statement.
“The significant increase in arriving passengers shows that tourism and international travel are already on the rebound,” he pointed out.
BI recalled before the COVID-19 pandemic, it recorded 11 million arrivals during the same period.
The bureau further said Department of Tourism (DOT), for its part, had listed more than four million foreign visitors from January to September 2023.
Tansingco said the bureau supports DOT’s efforts in simplifying the arrival procedures for travelers.
“We are procuring more e-gates for faster immigration processing,” he said.
“Through technology, we can work around the limited space that we have at the airports and improve passenger experience,” he added.
E-gates are among the new facilities installed.
These innovations use facial recognition, biometric scanning, and other electronic methods for faster security checks.
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