DOT: Philippines welcomes over 1.2 million tourists

MANILA, Philippines —  Over 1.2 million tourists visited the Philippines from January to March 5 this year, according to the Department of Tourism (DOT).

Among them are 1,160,129 foreigners (94.49 percent) and 67,686 Filipinos living overseas (5.51 percent), Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco said.

The total tourist arrivals this year were higher by 22.86 percent than the 999,390 tourist arrivals recorded in the same period in 2023, she noted.

South Korea remained the country’s top source of tourists (349,956), followed by the United States (195,603), China (85,876), Japan (73,159), Canada (50,555), Australia (50,488), Taiwan (42,955), United Kingdom (30,507), Singapore (25,253) and Germany (20,816).

Revenue from tourism also increased from $622.14 million in January 2023 to $652.26 million in January this year.

The DOT is aiming for 7.7 million tourist arrivals this year.