2022 records 6.12-M arrivals in Philippines; a 'major leap', says immigration
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines is seeing an apparent renaissance in tourism, a sector marred by major hiccups in the past two years due to travel restrictions and lockdowns brought about by the dreaded COVID-19 pandemic.
Bureau of Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco, Saturday, shared in a statement that their office processed over 6,125,841 arrivals in 2022 alone.
"This is already a major leap from the last two years, wherein our airports were quiet due to the decrease in travelers following travel restrictions imposed at the height of the pandemic," according to Tansingco.
"While we are not yet seeing pre-pandemic figures, the increase is already evident."
Prior to the pandemic, the BI earlier reported a whopping 17 million arrivals in 2019.
Of the recorded arrivals this year, around 3.6 million Filipinos accounted for the said numbers.
The following countries comprised of the top travelers this 2022:
- United States of America (687,135)
- South Korea (448,491)
- Australia (152,476) Canada (141,578)
- Japan (123,011)
"We share the optimism of the Tourism Department that travel is on the rebound and we will expect more tourists in the following months," added Tansingco.
The Department of Transportation this week recommended renewed travel restrictions on travelers arriving from China due to a recent spike of COVID-19 cases in their country.
Transport Secretary Jaime Bautista suggested that RT-PCR tests be required for Chinese visitors to stop the further spread of the virus in the country.
However, the Department of Health says that singling out specific countries isn't needed right now as the Philippines balances economic interests with health. — James Relativo
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