Philippine visitor numbers fall in Q1

The Philippines received 1,654,079 visitors in the first quarter of the year.

The Philippines.- The Department of Tourism (DOT) has reported that the Philippines received 1,654,079 visitors in the first quarter of the year. That’s a decrease of 0.51 per cent when compared to the same period last year. Some 92.52 per cent of arrivals were foreign tourists, including Filipinos residing overseas.

South Korea remained the biggest source market, accounting for 23.88 per cent of arrivals (395,059). However, the figure was down 13.86 per cent when compared to last year. The United States was the second-biggest source market with 285,597 arrivals (7.44 per cent), up 7.9 per cent.

There were 125,083 arrivals from Japan, up 18.73 per cent, while Australia ranked fourth with 70,601 arrivals, up 13 per cent. There were 67,634 arrivals from Canada, up 14.42 per cent, and 72,665 from China, down 33.68 per cent.

In 2024, the Philippines received 5.44 million tourist arrivals. That’s an increase of 8.7 per cent. Some 91.4 per cent were foreign tourists, including Filipinos residing overseas.

Analysts at Maybank Securities have forecast that tourism in the Philippines could fully recover to 2019 pre-pandemic levels in 2025. Analyst Ronalyn Joyce Lalimo said ongoing infrastructure improvements, including airport upgrades, could also help boost tourism from markets like South Korea, the United States, Japan, and Australia, which have strong historical and cultural connections with the Philippines.

Maybank highlighted e-visa services for Chinese and Indian visitors. Meanwhile, 43 projects underway under the Build Better More programme include five airport upgrades, including Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) and the New Manila International Airport. These will enhance capacity, with the new NAIA expected to handle 62 million passengers annually, up from 35 million.

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