TOKYO/MANILA – The Department of Tourism (DOT) announced that the Philippines has received 1,894,076 foreign visitors as of April 24, with 123,204 coming from Japan.
According to the DOT, Japanese tourists made up 6.13 percent of the overall foreign arrivals, placing the Land of the Rising Sun as the fourth largest tourism source market for the Philippines, following South Korea with 546,726 visitors (27.19 percent), the United States with 315,816 visitors (15.71 percent), and China with 130,574 visitors (6.49 percent).
Australia, Canada, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, Singapore, and Germany ranked fifth to tenth, respectively.
Meanwhile, 116,446 overseas Filipinos also visited the Philippines from Jan. 1 up to April 24.
The Philippines is targeting to welcome 7.7 million international visitors this year, nearly matching its pre-pandemic record-breaking achievement in 2019, with an estimated 8.26 million inbound visitor arrivals.
“The Department of Tourism sees a positive trajectory for the country’s international tourist arrivals this year. We are glad that the collaboration and collective effort and hard work are materializing into figures that are beneficial for the entire industry. 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,” Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco said in a news release.
She met with Japan’s new envoy to the Philippines, Kazuya Endo, who both pledged to collaborate closely to advance Japan-Philippines tourism relations.
The DOT is currently participating in the 2nd International Wellness and Tourism Expo happening at Tokyo Big Sight until May 10. - Florenda Corpuz
(Photo courtesy of Embassy of Japan in the Philippines)
