Tourists in Boracay (PNA file photo)
MANILA -- The country's tourism industry has generated some PHP245 billion in receipts from international visitors during the first six months of the year 2019, the Department of Tourism (DOT) said on Friday.
The corresponding total receipts from the six-month arrivals increased by 17.57 percent from the half-year gross revenues in 2018.
Data provided by the DOT Statistics, Economic Analysis and Information Management Division (SEAMID) show the highest monthly receipts of PHP42 billion in January.
For June 2019, spending reached an estimated PHP38 billion, which is 30.56 percent higher than the same month last year, while tourist per capita expenditure increased to USD1,086.61 or 30.97 percent higher than June 2018.
The DOT is keeping up with its target to attract high spending and longer staying tourists in the Philippines. Average daily expenditure and average length of stay per tourist reached USD120.60 and 9.01 nights, respectively, which is 28.64 percent and 1.81 percent higher than the same month last year. This is based on the data from visitor sample survey.
“These economic numbers are exciting but the real purpose of why the government is working hard to push these numbers up year after year is for the Filipino people. Tourism in 2018 was responsible for 5.4 million jobs in 2018, contributing 12.7 percent or PHP2.2 trillion to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). At the end of the day, it is the number of lives changed for the better by tourism that would truly count,” Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said.
Earlier, the DOT disclosed that 4.1 million foreigners have visited the country from January to June this year, indicating an 11.43 percent increase from 2018. (DOT PR)
