THE tourism landscape in the Philippines is poised for a prospective uptick in the year ahead with the anticipated series of extended weekends throughout 2024.
Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco of the Department of Tourism (DOT) has expressed her optimism, citing these elongated breaks as a potential catalyst for a substantial boost to the country’s domestic tourism sector.
This positive outlook follows President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.’s recent announcement of the schedule for these extended holiday breaks, a move lauded by the tourism chief for its significant impact on the nation’s economic growth trajectory.
“𝘈𝘮𝘪𝘥𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘺’𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘺, 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 5.45 𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘪𝘯 2023, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘢𝘴𝘮 𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘦𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘶𝘱 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦, 𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘢𝘴 ‘𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭.’ 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴’ 𝘕𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘛𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘋𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘗𝘭𝘢𝘯 (𝘕𝘛𝘋𝘗) 2023-2028, 𝘢𝘨𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘶𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘖𝘛,” said Secretary Frasco.
“𝘞𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘶𝘱𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘥𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥. 𝘐 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘰𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘪𝘷𝘰𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘴 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘴𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘺’𝘴 𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘤 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘣𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘺𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵,” the Tourism Chief added.
Reflecting on the statistical insights from 2022 released mid-2023, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) noted a staggering 102 million domestic trips, contributing an impressive PHP1.5 trillion to domestic tourism expenditure. Among the overall PHP1.87 trillion in internal tourism expenditure, inclusive of spending by foreign visitors and Filipinos residing abroad, a substantial PHP1.5 trillion was directly attributed to domestic tourism spending. This economic contribution stemmed from expenses by local visitors, encompassing both domestic trips and components of international travel occurring within the country’s borders.
“𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘶𝘱𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴, 𝘐 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘺 𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘍𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘰𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘰𝘯 𝘫𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘺𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴. 𝘈𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘯𝘫𝘰𝘺 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘪𝘥𝘺𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘤 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘴, 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦, 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭. 𝘉𝘦𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴, 𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘨𝘦𝘮𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘳-𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘵𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘳’𝘴 𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦, 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘨𝘯, ‘𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴,” Secretary Frasco enthused.
“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘖𝘛’𝘴 𝘰𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘢𝘯 𝘶𝘯𝘸𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘧 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘰 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘺’𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘩𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘍𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘰𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘤 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘥𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘴. 𝘈𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘷𝘪𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴’ 𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘦,” the tourism chief added.
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