MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Tourism (DOT) is “optimistic” that the Philippines will welcome a large number of tourists by 2025 similar to the figures recorded before the global pandemic hit.
“The DOT is optimistic that we will be able to breach the 2019 pre-pandemic numbers of eight million by 2025,” Tourism Undersecretary for legal concerns Mae Elaine Bathan said yesterday during the Philippine Economic Briefing at the Dusit D2 Hotel in Davao City.
In 2019, the DOT recorded a total of 8.3 million tourist arrivals led by South Korea, China, the United States, Japan and Taiwan.
Bathan said an estimated 3.35 million foreign travelers have visited the Philippines as of Aug. 9.
“That’s a little more short for the 4.8 million that we have targeted for this year. This shows how strong our tourism industry is and how optimistic we are that we will be able to breach yet again our targets for this year,” Bathan said.
The DOT is optimistic on the prospects of the tourism sector, especially after President Marcos lifted the state of public health emergency due to the pandemic.
“We know that tourism is one of the economic drivers of our country and such proclamation signifies that the Philippines is at par with its neighboring countries in terms of safety and travel protocols,” Bathan said. “It also signifies that the Philippines is open and safe for travel and we are more than willing and ready to welcome our visitors to our shores.”
During the same event, Bathan pitched Mindanao as a “viable, safe and worthwhile destination for all” including business executives, officers of local and foreign business chambers and government officials.