MANILA, Philippines — Luring tourists to the country should not be limited to foreigners, since statistics have shown that overseas Filipinos – and not just overseas Filipino workers – spend more than their foreign counterparts, an opposition lawmaker has revealed.
“Compared to other foreign visitors, overseas Filipinos tend to spend considerably more money here during their vacations, mainly due to their strong social and economic ties,” House Minority Leader Marcelino Libanan said, referring to Filipinos who have become permanent residents or citizens of other countries.
“Many overseas Filipinos spend for the improvement of their ancestral homes here in the Philippines when they come for a visit, while others set up new investments, such as apartments for rent, to provide a recurring income stream to their relatives here,” he added.
“They are also likely to purchase locally made products to bring with them when they leave,” Libanan said.
Libanan is calling on the Department of Tourism (DOT) to encourage a larger number of overseas Filipinos to spend their holidays in the Philippines, saying their spending can boost the country’s tourism revenues and jobs growth to a great extent.
“We want the Tourism Promotions Board to draw up a new marketing plan that will purposely entice overseas Filipinos to come and visit their motherland,” he said.
Data from DOT show that 396,147 Philippine passport holders, who are also permanent residents overseas, have visited the country from January to November 2023.
In 2022, a total of 628,445 Philippine passport holders who are permanent resident aliens abroad visited the country after the COVID-19 pandemic began to wane and global air traffic restrictions were lifted.
The DOT does not have figures on the number of Filipinos or former Filipinos who visited the Philippines using foreign passports.
Libanan has been batting for the passage of a bill that would upgrade the benefits and privileges enjoyed by returning Filipinos under the “Balikbayan Program Law of 1989.”