OFW tourist arrivals rise 4.2% in 2012

MANILA, Philippines - More workers returning home from abroad are spending time touring around the country, the Department of Tourism (DOT) said.

The number of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) registered as tourists increased 4.2 percent in 2012, data from the DOT showed.

OFW tourist arrivals in 2012 reached 215,943 from 207,152 in 2011.

The most common mode of travel used by the OFW tourists was by air, and majority or 52.25 percent went for a holiday, according to DOT data.

Among the places frequently visited by OFW tourists include Cebu, Davao, Baguio, Batangas, Laguna, Tagaytay and Boracay.

Majority of the OFW tourists were female at 68.3 percent while 31.46 percent were male. The average age of the OFW tourists, based on the data, is 39 years old.

About 15 percent of the OFW tourists are professionals holding managerial and administrative positions while some 12.54 percent are industrial workers/ laborers.

Based on the DOT data, the average annual gross income of the OFW tourists stands at $81,500.

Earlier this year, there was clamor for the government to urge OFWs to become tourist ambassadors to further spur local tourism in the Philippines.

Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr. was earlier quoted as saying that “To build a nation, one can only begin with the most basic of all ingredients—national pride.”

“Your self-esteem, your confidence is what will make people sit up and take notice. They will praise you for your hard work, your perseverance, your intelligence, your discipline. But if you are great fun, if you are confident in yourself, they will follow you in the Philippines,” he said.

OFWs have always been the lifeblood of the Philippine economy through their remittances.

As of end-March 2013, OFW remittances reached $5.6 billion.

Jimenez also urged Filipinos based abroad to visit the Philippines more frequently.

For the first three months of 2013, the number of overseas Filipinos or those Philippine passport holders permanently residing abroad increased 2.09 percent to 25,641 from last year’s 25,116.