Tourist spending rises 36% in 9 months

MANILA, Philippines — Visitor receipts surged 36.28 percent in the first nine months, driven by the influx of higher-spending Chinese tourists into the country.

Based on data from the Department of Tourism obtained by The Star, visitor receipts amounted to P243.23 billion, up from the P178.48 billion recorded in the same period last year.

“The month of July recorded the biggest receipts of P33.53 billion while the highest growth of 117.23 percent was recorded in September,” the DOT said.

In September alone, inbound visitor receipts more than doubled to P30.89 billion from P14.22 billion.

Average daily expenditure (ADE) of visitors for the same month reached P6,722.02, while the average length of stay (ALoS) of visitors was at 9.3 nights.

In addition, average per capita expenditure of visitors for September  amounted to P62,514.77.

The DOT attributed the higher visitor receipts to the booming Chinese market, with China as the top spending market with estimated receipts of P10.6 billion.

Korea came next with expenditures of about P8.82 billion, while visitors from the United States and Japan spent an estimated P2.32 billion and P2.04 billion, respectively.

Meanwhile, visitor arrivals in the nine-month period posted double digit growth at 10.88 percent with a total of 4.95 million tourists arriving in the country, higher than the 4.46 million tourists in the same period last year.

“The biggest volume was recorded in the month of January, while the highest growth was registered in April,” the DOT said.

Korea remained the country’s top source market with a market share of 24.1 percent at 1.19 million visitors in the first nine months.

China occupied the second spot with a total of 720,875 visitors, representing a 14.56 percent market share.

For this year, the DOT expects Chinese arrivals to hit the one million mark, given the improved diplomatic relations of the two countries and the approval of the Visa Upon Arrival (VUA) option for Chinese nationals.

The US followed with 717,702 arrivals, comprising 14.5 percent of total inbound traffic,” the DOT said.

Japan and Australia secured the fourth and fifth spot with registered 452,124 arrivals and 186,851 arrivals, respectively.

Among the country’s top 10 markets are Taiwan with 184,573 visitors, Canada  (145,145 visitors), United Kingdom (135,868 arrivals), Singapore (125,442 arrivals) and Malaysia (106,720 arrivals).

Based on the national tourism development plan, the DOT expects tourist arrivals to hit the 6.5 million mark this year.