The country registered 5.45 million international visitors in 2023, exceeding its target of 4.8 million.
The Department of Tourism (DOT) on Saturday, July 20, expressed optimism about sustaining the impressive gains in the country’s tourism sector.
Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco says the current administration’s prioritization of the industry enabled it to reach record-breaking numbers and notable milestones in 2023, pushing the goal of making the Philippines a tourism powerhouse in Asia within reach.


Tourism contributed an 8.6 percent share to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), marking the highest growth rate in Tourism Direct Gross Value Added in the 24 years of the Philippine Statistics Authority’s (PSA) compilation of this data, says Frasco. Total inbound and domestic visitor receipts totaled P3.367 trillion showing a remarkable 75.3% increase from 2022.
Moreover, tourism has proven to be a powerful force for good, providing livelihood to 6.21 million Filipinos, she adds.
Upward tourism growth
Tourism cements its position as one of the most vital contributors to the country’s economy, bolstered by its impressive performance in the previous year.
As the country breached the US$100 billion mark in exports of goods and services, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported a US$2.45 billion net trade surplus in travel services, a first in 15 years. Tourism investments also saw significant growth, totaling P509 billion, reflecting an impressive increase of over 34 percent compared to 2022.


All these, as the Philippines registered 5.45 million international visitors in 2023, exceeding its target of 4.8 million. Of the total number of international visitor arrivals, 91.80 percent, or the bulk of 5,003,475, are foreigners. The remaining 8.20 percent, or 447,082, are overseas Filipinos.
As of July 19, 2024, the Philippines has received 3,326,354 international visitor arrivals from January 2024. The DOT’s statistical monitoring report also showed that tourism earnings from inbound visitors are pegged at Php 282.17 billion from January 1 to June 30, 2024, or approximately 32.81 percent higher than the Php 212.47 billion revenue from the same period last year.
Enhancing tourist convenience, tourism resilience
To elevate the Philippines’ global competitiveness as a tourism destination, the DOT has launched several flagship tourism programs, including the first-ever Hop-On, Hop-Off Bus Tours in Makati, Pasay, and Manila, a multi-platform Tourist Assistance Call Center, and the enhanced Travel Philippines mobile application, giving tourists digital access to information on all regions in the country.
The DOT also continues to prioritize tourist safety through its Tourist Oriented Police for Community Order and Protection (TOPCOP) partnership program with the Philippine National Police (PNP) and successfully training 7,910 officers.


The department likewise developed the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) Operations Manual in 2023, which seeks to ensure the tourism sector’s resilience against natural disasters by promoting preparedness and safety across tourism sites.
The DOT, in partnership with its infrastructure arm, the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA), has launched Tourist Rest Areas (TRAs) in 10 strategic locations nationwide. These facilities, which come fully equipped with clean restrooms and showers, charging stations, information and pasalubong centers showcasing products that support the livelihoods of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), a lactation room, and lounge areas, can be freely accessed by tourists as they go around the country.
The department commits to adding at least 22 more TRAs this year, bringing the total number to 32.
Expanding the country’s tourism horizon
The DOT is looking beyond the country’s already established tourism products such its stunning beaches, to highlight emerging products and the many facets that make the Philippines a top tourism destination, including the country’s rich mega biodiversity, heritage, culture, history, gastronomy and most importantly, the distinct hospitality and warmth of Filipinos.
With this, the DOT has strengthened its Filipino Brand of Service Excellence (FBSE) program that seeks to enhance and uplift the quality of tourism services in the country anchored on the distinct Filipino brand of hospitality that is known all over the world. A total of 212,937 tourism frontliners and stakeholders nationwide have been trained on the FBSE as of July 19, 2024.


The DOT, in collaboration with its regional offices and tourism stakeholders, organized various domestic expos, travel fairs, and tourism trade shows to promote domestic tourism exchange and highlight lesser-known destinations, through business-to-business exchanges and post-expo tours.
In its effort to strengthen the country’s cruise tourism portfolio, the DOT, in partnership with the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Bureau of Immigration (BI), has recently launched the Cruise Visa Waiver (CVW) Program to streamline visa processes and attract more international cruise ships to the country. The Philippines’ allure as a premier cruise tourism destination was further solidified as it won the prestigious Best Ports of Call 2024 award at the 10th Asia Cruise Awards, held during the Asia Cruise Forum in Jeju Island, Korea, on July 10, 2024.
Dive tourism has also seen the expansion of the country’s dive destinations to 120 sites and counting. To strengthen the country’s dive tourism portfolio, the DOT chief has announced that additional hyperbaric chambers for diver safety will be installed in Batangas, Bohol, Boracay, Cebu, Palawan, and Puerto Galera, among others.


The DOT has boosted medical tourism by releasing updated accreditation guidelines for dental clinics and engaging in public-private partnerships with international and local medical institutions, including Agora, St. Luke’s Medical Center, and The Medical City (TMC), to enhance services and attract more medical tourists. This effort will be highlighted in the upcoming hosting of the country’s first international health and wellness summit.
The Department has also taken strides in bringing tourism development beyond established destinations. To showcase Mindanao’s readiness for tourism, the DOT has led several initiatives such as the building of the very first Tourist Rest Area in Samal, the first Philippine Experience Program in Davao Region, and the first MTEX.
Strengthening the country’s position
in global tourism
The DOT has mounted a series of landmark tourism events since 2023 to increase the Philippines’ prominence in the global tourism industry. The DOT led the largest Philippine delegation to the World Travel Market (WTM), the Internationale Tourismus-Börse (ITB) Berlin this year and participated in the Arabian Travel Market (ATM), Seoul International Travel Fair (SITF), and ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF), among other key travel and tourism events.
The DOT and its marketing promotions arm, the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) Philippines, amassed PHP 6.27 billion in sales leads in 2023 alone.


The Philippines also successfully hosted the 36th Joint Meeting of the United Nations Tourism Commission for East Asia and the Pacific & the UN Tourism Commission for South Asia (36th CAP-CSA), as well as the First UN Tourism Regional Forum on Gastronomy Tourism for Asia and the Pacific last month in Cebu, following its election as Vice President at the 25th General Assembly of the UNWTO, now known as UN Tourism, and Chairman of the Commission for East Asia and the Pacific, through Secretary Frasco and the DOT’s representation.
The country hosted the PATA International Conference on Women in Travel in Bohol, the Philippine International Dive Expo (PHIDEX) 2024, the National Farm Tourism Summit, and many firsts, including the Philippine Dive Tourism Dialogue, the Philippine Creative Tourism Congress, the Philippine Golf Tourism Summit, and the Tourism Pride Summit, among others.
In strengthening bilateral tourism ties, the Philippines has inked landmark agreements with countries such as Japan, Brunei, and Qatar.
Most recently, the country was honored at the 2024 GovMedia Conference & Awards in Singapore which recognizes outstanding government initiatives in Asia. The DOT’s Filipino Brand of Service Excellence Training Program was awarded Tourism Training Program of the Year, and the DOT’s Tourist Rest Area program was awarded Tourism Infrastructure Project of the Year.


The DOT also reaped four major awards at the World Travel Awards (WTA) 2023, held in Dubai. The Philippines successfully defended its 2022 titles as the World’s Leading Dive Destination and World’s Leading Beach Destination and, for the first time, bagged the World’s Leading City Destination for Manila.
The Philippines also received the 2023 WTA Global Tourism Resilience Award, being one of only five countries and destinations in the world to receive the inaugural citation. The country was also acclaimed Destination of the Year at the 9th TripZilla Excellence Awards 2023.