Manila (TAN): International visitors spent approximately USD 4.7 billion in the Philippines in H1 2019, up 17.6% YoY.
According to tourism department data obtained by BusinessMirror, the top spenders in the country are South Koreans and Europeans.
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“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,” the report quoted tourism secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat as saying. “Tourism in 2018 was responsible for 5.4 million jobs in 2018, contributing 12.7 percent or P2.2 trillion to the country’s gross domestic product. At the end of the day, it is the number of lives changed for the better by tourism that would truly count.”
South Korean visitors spent more than USD 1,300 per person in H1 2019. A total of 946,025 people came to Philippines from the country during this time.
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In second place were the French (52,960 visitors), who spent approximately USD 1,287 per person, followed by the Germans (55,322 visitors), who spent USD 1,272 per person. As many as 106,673 visitors came from the UK and spent approximately USD 1,218 per person.
As many as 4.1 million foreign visitors came to the Philippines in H1 2019, up 11.43% compared to the same period last year.
The archipelago nation has set the goal to play host to 8.2 million international tourists in 2019.
