Immigration reports 79% drop in int'l arrivals in 2020

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has reported a 79% drop in the number of international travelers who entered the Philippines this year due to travel restrictions brought on by COVID-19.

More than 3.5 million passengers arrived from January to December 25, much lower than the 16.7 million who came in 2019, the bureau said on Monday.

Over 2 million of arrivals were Filipinos and 1.54 million were foreigners.

Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente said the low figures were expected considering a global drop in travel due to the pandemic.

“We expect these passenger statistics to remain low perhaps until early next year,” Morente said, adding that he hopes travel picks up once a vaccine against COVID-19 is available and travel confidence is restored.

BI port operations chief Candy Tan said the year started with a "promising" 1.53 million arrivals in January that dropped to less than a million in February, and to just over 300,000 in March, the month Luzon was placed under enhanced community quarantine.

From April to December, many of the arriving passengers were returning overseas Filipino workers (OFW), Tan said.

Foreigner arrivals have increased in the past months — from only 1,591 in April to around 18,000 in December — but are still "very low" compared to the pre-pandemic average of over 700,000 a month, she said.

Tan also reported that 5,237 Balikbayans arrived in the country from December 7 to 25, in time for the holidays.

More than 132,000 passengers have arrived this month, 18% higher than October figures, the immigration official said.

She said the bureau is ensuring it has enough personnel when traveler volume increases after a vaccine becomes available and worldwide travel restrictions are lifted. —KBK, GMA News