People swim at a beach in Puerto Princesa, Palawan on April 18, 2024. AFP
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines logged more than two million international visitors in April, the Department of Tourism (DOT) said Thursday.
According to the DOT, over 94 percent of the total were foreign tourists, with around five percent being overseas Filipinos.
READ: Over 1.2 million int’l visitors arrived in first two months of 2024 — DOT
The number is also 15.11 percent higher than what was recorded for the same period last year, which was at 1.7 million, the DOT added.
The arrivals also translated to around P157 million in tourism receipts.
READ: DOT surpasses 5 million mark in foreign tourist arrivals for 2023
Here are the top ten countries that have contributed the most to the inbound visitor arrivals in the country according to the department’s data:
- South Korea
- United States of America
- China
- Japan
- Australia
- Canada
- Taiwan
- United Kingdom
- Singapore
- Germany
DOT Secretary Christina Frasco expressed hope that the numbers will continue to rise in the following months.
“We are hopeful that with more investments in tourism infrastructure as well as much needed increase in connectivity as well as improvements in air, land, and sea infrastructure and accessibility, the numbers can further increase,” Frasco said.
This year, the DOT is targeting to welcome 7.7 million international visitors, nearly its pre-pandemic record-breaking achievement in 2019 which ended with an estimated 8.26 million inbound visitor arrivals.