The Philippines received circa 4.92 million foreign tourists in the first 11 months of 2024, up 9.6 percent from the prior-year period, according to data published on Monday by the nation’s Department of Tourism. Foreign tourists accounted for 91.9 percent of aggregate arrivals, which include people classified as overseas Filipinos.

In aggregate terms, the country recorded just above 5.35 million arrivals in the 11 months to November 30, including 432,439 entries by overseas Filipinos. The latter segment – referring to Philippine passport holders who are permanently residing abroad – was up 9.2 percent from a year earlier.

The Philippines is one of the few jurisdictions in Asia to have an extensive casino industry with unrestricted access for locals, as well as foreigners.

In terms of foreign tourists, South Korea remains the Philippines’ top source market, with nearly 1.44 million arrivals in the January to November period, accounting for 26.8 percent of all arrivals. The tally from that market was up by 10.5 percent from the prior-year period.

In October, the Philippines and South Korea signed an implementation programme of the “Memorandum of Understanding on Tourism Cooperation for 2024-2029”, with the aim of expanding bilateral tourism ties.

In the first 11 months of 2024, the second-biggest source market for foreign tourists to the Philippines was the United States, with 839,635 arrivals, about 15.7 percent of all arrivals. The figure was up 3.8 percent from a year earlier.

Japan rounded out the top three source markets, providing 352,630 arrivals, nearly 6.6 percent of all visitors. The figure was up 27.9 percent from a year ago, according to the data.

China provided about 297,604 visitors in the January to November period, representing about 5.6 percent of all arrivals. The figure rose by 21.5 percent from the prior-year period.