The Department of Tourism (DOT) said foreign tourists who visited the Philippines in the first six months of 2019 spent a total of P245 billion, a 17% increase from gross tourism receipts a year ago.
The DOT cited data provided by the DOT Statistics, Economic Analysis and Information Management Division (SEAMID).
Based on available data, the biggest amount spent by tourists in a month was P48 billion in February.
Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said they were on track in meeting their target to lure the high spending and longer staying tourists.
She cited results of the visitor sample survey which showed that the average daily expenditure and average length of stay per tourist reached $120.60 and 9.01 nights, respectively, in June 2019.
These figures were 28.64% and 1.81% higher than those recorded in the same month last year.
Total spending that month reached P38 billion, which was 30.56% higher than the receipts in the same month last year.
Tourist per capita expenditure in June increased to $1,086.61 or 30.97% higher than in June 2018.
“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. 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 (GDP). At the end of the day, it is the number of lives changed for the better by tourism that would truly count,” Romulo-Puyat said in a statement.
The DOT earlier reported an 11.43% increase in foreign arrivals to 4.1 million in the first half of 2019. (Ventures Cebu)
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