Phl tourist arrival down 82%
The DoT assures steadfast support to its stakeholders with inclusive and sustainable development
The Department of Tourism (DoT) on Monday announced that visitor arrivals plunged 82.05 percent last year as the country closed its borders due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The number of inbound tourists in the Philippines was at 1,482,585 arrivals, lower than the 2019 figures of 8,260,913.
The government had barred travel to the Philippines for leisure, including issuance of visas to travelers. Only foreigners with official business, spouses of Filipino citizens and dual citizens, among others, were allowed to enter the country.
Tourism receipts, meanwhile, were estimated at P82.24 billion, an 82.94 percent drop from 2019’s P482.15 billion.
Korea remains to be a top visitor market for 2020 with 338,877 tourist arrivals, followed by the United States with 211,816 and China with 170,432.
Spending patterns of tourists increased with an average daily expenditure of P6,759,19, slightly higher the P6,647.99 in 2019. The average length of stay was recorded at 10.58 nights, longer than 9.49 nights in 2019.
The Philippine Statistics Authority recorded a 5.4 percent total contribution of tourism in the gross domestic product of the Philippine economy in 2020 or P973.3 billion, lower than P2.5 trillion in 2019.
The inbound tourism expenditure also decreased by 77.9 percent or P132.6 billion, compared to P600.1 billion in 2019.
The DoT assures steadfast support to its stakeholders with inclusive and sustainable development.