THE Department of Tourism (DOT) on Tuesday, August 20 presented before the House of Representatives (HoR) Committee on Appropriations its Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 budget for the DOT and attached agencies, with Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco reporting record-breaking performance of Philippine tourism in 2023.
Secretary Frasco reported that Philippine tourism last year surpassed all baseline targets set under the National Tourism Development Plan (NTDP) 2023-2028 for tourism yields (expenditures) and the contributions to national output and employment, marking a significant milestone in the continued resurgence of the industry.
Secretary Frasco reported that Philippine tourism exceeded all baseline targets established under the National Tourism Development Plan (NTDP) 2023-2028 for tourism revenue (expenditures) and its contributions to national output and employment last year.
“These are the indicators that matter the most – the contributions of tourism to job generation and the aspiration to achieve upper middle-income status under the administration of President Marcos Jr. We achieved these because apart from the domestic trips and international tourist arrivals, we now have more products and destinations to offer today. The results of which is a higher length of stay and more spending along the circuits developed across the various destinations in our regions,” Secretary Frasco said, expressing gratitude to members of the House Committee on Appropriations for providing support to Philippine tourism that allowed the attainment of record figures last year.
2023 a banner year for Philippine tourism
Citing the World Travel and Tourism Council’s (WTTC) report, Secretary Frasco shared that the Philippines had the biggest domestic tourism market in Southeast Asia last year. In 2023, the Philippine domestic market was valued at USD 52.1 billion (in terms of domestic visitor expenditure), or equivalent to P2.90 trillion.
The Philippines also has the highest contribution to national output in Southeast Asia, with the WTTC estimating the Philippine tourism industry’s contribution of USD 78 Billion or Php 4.34 trillion to the Philippine economy, equivalent to 17.9% of the Philippine GDP.
The Philippines captured the highest share (24.8%) of the total contributions of ASEAN Tourism to the ASEAN GDP.
“While there have been headwinds, both internal and external, that we continue to grapple with, we have worked as hard as we can with the resources we have been given to transform the Philippines to its full potential. But there is yet much work to be done and this will require significant resources, and with your kind and generous assistance we will be able to accomplish our President’s aspirations for the Philippines to become a tourism powerhouse,” the DOT chief said.
The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) in 2023 recorded that over 6.2 million Filipinos found employment in tourism-related sectors last year. Tourism also contributed 8.6 percent to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), with the combined domestic and international tourism expenditure reaching an astounding P3.36 trillion. PR
