MANILA, Philippines – Philippine tourism recorded PHP712 billion in estimated visitor receipts from January 1 to December 15, 2024, representing a 119 percent recovery rate from the 2019 numbers, the Department of Tourism (DOT) revealed on Tuesday.
During its year-end press briefing, Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco highlighted the earnings contributed by the tourism industry to the country, as well as other notable achievements in the past 11 months.
"Today, we do not just take stock of the year that has been —we celebrate the story of a nation reclaiming its place on the global stage. This is a story of recovery and resurgence, of numbers that inspire and lives that are transformed, opening the eyes of the world to the unique beauty and culture of the Philippines,” Secretary Frasco said.
“From the very beginning, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. made a bold declaration: tourism will be a cornerstone of our nation’s recovery. Inspired by his vision, we embraced the challenge—not just to rebuild but to innovate, not just to promote, but to develop, to transform, to lead,” Frasco added.
The Secretary said while it has been a practice to only look at arrivals as a measure of tourism success every year, she encouraged the press to have a wider perspective on the full faculty of facts.
“Focus on the numbers that matter: visitor receipts, tourism spend, length of stay, tourism employment, for these are what drive our economy and employ our people, and in all of these numbers, the Philippines is performing exceptionally well,” she emphasized.
Tourism employment
Based on the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) April 2024 Labor Force Survey, 16.4 million or 34.11 percent of the country’s overall employment came from tourism’s direct and indirect jobs, providing goods or services to foreign tourists, local visitors, or tourism-related businesses.
The same data also shows that among the Philippine regions, Region 4A (Calabarzon) had the highest employment in tourism at 2.92 million, followed by the National Capital Region (NCR) at 2.80 million, and Region 3 (Central Luzon) at 2.49 million. Region 7 (Central Visayas) and Region 6 (Western Visayas) came fourth and fifth, delivering 1.57 million and 1.07 million, respectively.
“These figures highlight the pivotal role of tourism in generating livelihood, uplifting communities nationwide, and certainly shows the impact of Philippine tourism. In terms of job generation, the Department of Tourism remains steadfast in its mission to generate quality employment opportunities for Filipinos across the country,” the tourism chief said.
Visitor arrivals
The Philippines registered a total of 5,646,351 international visitor arrivals as of December 17, of which 91.66 percent or 5,175,599 are foreign tourists, while the remaining 8.34 percent, or 470,752 are Overseas Filipinos, the Tourism Department mentioned.
South Korea remains the country’s top source of foreign arrivals, which delivered a solid 26.66 percent or 1,505,251 visitors. The United States came second by bringing 15.75 percent or 889,489 visitors to the country, followed by Japan with 6.51 percent or 367,747. China took the fourth spot with 5.43 percent or 306,549 visitors, and Australia in fifth with 4.41 percent or 249,130 visitors, DOT added.
Canada, Taiwan, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and Malaysia earned the sixth to tenth spot, respectively.
New tourism programs for 2025
During the annual year-end media briefing, Frasco presented “exciting opportunities for DOT” for the upcoming new year.
According to the tourism chief, the DOT has entered into a partnership with the Department of Health (DOH) for the establishment of Tourist First Aid Facilities, as well as in discussions with relevant government agencies for the creation of “Tourist Courts.”
Under the partnership of the DOT and DOH, Tourist First Aid Facilities are planned to be built in areas with a high concentration of tourists including La Union; Boracay Island in Aklan; Siargao Island in Surigao del Norte; Panglao Island in Bohol; Palawan; and Puerto Galera.
The Tourism agency also proposed the 24/7 “Tourist Courts” that aims to “resolve crimes related to tourists. The proposal earned the support of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. who ordered the Philippine National Police (PNP), the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), and the Department of Justice (DOJ) to work alongside the DOT to investigate and prosecute crimes related to tourists, the DOT mentioned.
The agency is also set to launch the “Layover Tours” as part of the Philippines Hop-on Hop-off Bus Tours program, which Secretary Frasco said “would make layovers more enjoyable and provide seamless access to our iconic attractions.”
The Philippines Hop-on Hop-off Bus Tours program launched in 2023 enables solo and group travelers to arrange quick, self-guided tours via an advanced bus network and a dedicated mobile application.
Secretary Frasco also shared the DOT’s plan to launch the “Golf Experience” program, which she said would “cater to enthusiasts eager to discover our world-class golf destinations.”
The program was inspired by the various legs of the Philippine Experience Program: Heritage, Culture, and Arts Caravans in 11 regions so far, as well as the successful Philippine Dive Experience Program held in the popular beach destination Anilao in Mabini, Batangas, the DOT said.
The DOT also confirmed that it will also continue to build more Tourist Rest Areas (TRA) across the country, now equipped with new features such as rainwater harvesting facility and solar panels on roofs, in addition to basic amenities like clean and decent restrooms, tourism information center and a pasalubong center.
The Tourism agency is looking forward to the establishment of the Legacy of the Sea Project in Silaki Island, Bolinao, Pangasinan, which Secretary Frasco and local officials broke ground on this year.
According to the DOT, it is the first of the 15 winning projects of the DOT’s Tourism Champions Challenge, which awarded a total of PHP255 million to 15 local government units from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao that proposed sustainable and inclusive tourism infrastructure projects.
In addition, the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA) intends to establish five (5) additional hyperbaric chambers in key destinations: Boracay, Camiguin, Cebu, Negros Oriental, and Oriental Mindoro, with another one already broken ground in world-famous Boracay Island, announced the Tourism chief.
The United Nations (UN) Tourism Academy is also expected to rise in Cebu as a product of the country’s hosting of the first UN Tourism Regional Forum on Gastronomy Tourism for Asia-Pacific, which Frasco hoped would “strengthen the country’s role as a hub for education and capacity-building for sustainable tourism in the region.”
Secretary Frasco also declared the DOT has successfully diversified the Philippines’ tourism portfolio, which now includes cruise, wellness, meetings, incentives, conventions, and exhibitions (MICE), sports, and halal.
She reported that 109 cruise calls and 40 destinations were visited by cruise ships this year, a number significantly higher than our neighboring countries that are also considered cruise destinations as of November 4, 2024.
To boost the country’s MICE tourism portfolio, the Tourism chief said the DOT is gearing up to host significant international events, including attendance to ASEAN Tourism Meetings in preparation for the ASEAN Summit 2026, and the first Terra Madre Asia Pacific in Bacolod, further cementing the Philippines’ reputation as a hub for big-ticket gatherings.
The upcoming plans and projects of the DOT for 2025 are products of the National Tourism Development Plan (NTDP) 2023-2028 which serves as the cornerstone of vision for Philippine tourism, Frasco explained.
