The Philippines attracts about 2 million foreign tourists every year until April
The Philippines welcomed fewer than 2 million foreign tourists in the first four months of 2024, up 16.8% year-on-year, according to data released by the Philippine Tourism Ministry on Tuesday.
South Korea has the most visitors in the Philippines with a total of 571,384 arrivals from January to April, accounting for 27.1% of the total. The figure is up 24.4% year-on-year.
The second largest source was the U.S., with 331,049 arrivals in the four months to April 30, flat year-over-year. And about 15.6% of all arrivals in the period arrived.
China was in the top three with about 141,153 visitors in the first four months of the year, accounting for about 6.5% of all arrivals. The figure was up 104.8% from the previous year.
Tourism Minister Christina Garcia-Prasco said in late April that the department had “a positive trajectory for international tourist arrivals this year.”
“We are delighted that collaboration and collective efforts and efforts are being embodied in figures that are beneficial to the industry as a whole,” she said.
“We hope that more investment in tourism infrastructure and improvements in aviation, land, sea infrastructure and accessibility will allow the number to rise further,” Mr Prasco added.
Domestic tourism revenue amounted to around 155.62 billion pounds ($2.75 billion) in the first three months of the year, according to the tourism ministry, representing an “estimated recovery rate of 120.7%” from the same period in 2019, the last trading year before the pandemic.
The Philippines aims to attract 7.7 million foreign visitors this year after exceeding its 2023 arrival target. The Philippines received a total of 5.45 million foreign visitors in 2023, with 91.8% being foreign.
The Philippines is one of the few regions in Asia to open up a broad casino industry to locals as well as foreigners. Many commentators noted that the Philippine casino sector benefited from the return of visitors from overseas as well as domestic demand in 2023.
Maybank Securities said in a recent note that it expects the local gaming industry in the Philippines to achieve “at least about 15%” of gross gaming revenue (GGR) growth in 2024. It expects GGR growth this year to be “driven by the domestic public and slot markets” and “a boost from a gradual recovery in the VIP sector led by South Korean punters.”
BY: 바카라 필승법