DOT reports 3M visitors, P212-M tourism revenue for 2023

The Philippines has hosted more than three million international travelers, the Department of Tourism (DOT) declared on Wednesday.

According to data released by DOT, tourist arrivals from January 1 to July 19, 2023 reached a total of 3,000,079 visitors and around P212,467,522,100.14 in tourism revenue.

This is a 502.02% increase in revenue from last year’s P35,292,495,457.14.

"We are glad to report that in roughly seven months, we have already achieved the 3 million international visitor arrivals mark, reflecting continued robust recovery and the gains of the Marcos Administration towards the resurgence of Philippine tourism," said Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia-Frasco.

The country has recorded 2,740,802 foreign tourist entries and 259,277 Overseas Filipino visitors.

The DOT reported that top foreign visitors were from South Korea with 741,658 visitors, United States with 550,569 visitors, Australia with 146,062 visitors, Japan with 143,227 visitors and Canada with 132,018 visitors.

"Tourism provides employment and livelihood to millions of Filipinos. We are grateful for the renewed interest worldwide in the Philippines, which offers a multitude of reasons to love travel across our islands. We thank as well our fellow Filipinos who continue to travel domestically, supporting our local communities and families who are all part of the tourism value chain." Frasco said. — Jiselle Casucian/BAP, GMA Integrated News JISELLE ANNE CASUCIAN###