THE Department of Tourism said that the country has exceeded the full-year target for international tourist arrivals.

According to Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco, a total of 4,822,530 million visitors have been booked as of November 27.

This is more than the 4.8 million target for the whole of 2023.

According to Frasco, the foreign tourists make up 91.9 percent of the arrivals.

The remaining 8.1 percent are returning overseas Filipinos.

“South Korea remains the country’s top source market for foreign arrivals which brought in 1,271,602 tourists or 26.37 percent of the total,” the DOT said. 

Next are visitors from the United States of America with 797,181; Japan followed with 272,735; China with 242,107; and Australia with 225,464.

Meanwhile, the DOT said that the rise in arrivals is due to the liberalization of visa policies, the building of tourist rest areas, and several other new initiatives. 

“This cements our position as one of the strongest pillars of the Philippine economy that employs no less than 5.35 million Filipinos in the tourism industry sector, ensuring jobs, livelihood, and the well-being of communities all over the country,” Frasco added. 

Likewise, the DOT said they also launched a campaign to promote the Philippines as a destination for golfers. 

“Today marks the Philippines' long overdue foray into the multi-billion golf tourism industry that will no doubt have an enormous impact on the Philippine economy. And it's about time that the government and the private sector come together to converge and to collaborate,” she said. 

The Philippines has over 100 golf courses spread across Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.