The Philippines welcomed just under 2.0 million foreign tourists in the first four months of 2024, up 16.8 percent from a year earlier, according to data published on Tuesday by the nation’s Department of Tourism.

South Korea remains the Philippines’ top source for visitors, with an aggregate of 571,384 arrivals in the January to April period, accounting for 27.1 percent of the total. The figure rose by 24.4 percent year-on-year.

The second-biggest source was the United States, with 331,049 arrivals in the four months to April 30, flat from a year earlier; and about 15.6 percent of all arrivals in the period.

China made the top three, providing about 141,153 visitors in the first four months this year; representing about 6.5 percent of all arrivals. The figure was up 104.8 percent from the prior-year period.

Tourism secretary Christina Garcia Frasco said in late April that her department saw a “positive trajectory for the country’s international tourist arrivals this year”.

“We are glad that the collaboration and collective effort and hard work are materialising into figures that are beneficial for the entire industry,” she stated.

“We are hopeful that with more investments in tourism infrastructure as well as much needed increase in connectivity as well as improvements in air, land, and sea infrastructure and accessibility, the numbers can further increase,” added Ms Frasco.

According to the Department of Tourism, the country’s tourism receipts in the first three months this year reached about PHP157.62 billion (US$2.75 billion), representing “an estimated 120.7 percent recovery rate” from the same period in 2019, the last trading year before the pandemic.

The Philippines aims to draw 7.7 million foreign visitors this year after exceeding its arrival goals for 2023. The country received an aggregate of 5.45 million international visitors in full-year 2023, with 91.8 percent being foreigners.

The Philippines is one of the few jurisdictions in Asia to have an extensive casino industry open to locals as well as foreigners. A number of commentators has mentioned that the Philippine casino sector had benefitted in 2023 not only from domestic demand, but a return of visitors from overseas.

Maybank Securities Inc said in a recent memo that it expects the local gaming industry in the Philippines to deliver “at least circa 15 percent” gross gaming revenue (GGR) growth in 2024. It said it expected GGR growth this year “to be driven by the domestic mass and slots market”, with an “upside from the gradual pick-up in the VIP segment, led by South Korean punters”.