VISITORS from South Korea were the biggest tourism spenders in the country in the first two months of the year, latest data from the Department of Tourism (DOT) show.
In January and February, the Philippine economy earned $507.83 million (P26.41 billion) from South Korean tourists, an increase of 18.2 percent from its earnings from the market in the same period last year. This, despite their tepid arrivals, which was up only 1.72 percent during the same period. (See, “DOT: January and February 2019 visitor arrivals up 6 percent,” in the BusinessMirror, April 11, 2019.) Visitor receipts from South Korea accounted for 29 percent of the total tourism receipts amounting to some $1.75 billion (P91 billion) in the first two months of 2019.
Visitors from the People’s Republic of China were the second-biggest spenders in the first two months of the year at $320.51 million (P16.67 billion), accounting for 18 percent of the Philippines’s total tourism receipts for the period. However, the spending of Chinese tourists was up by only 0.59 percent in spite of the 19-percent increase in their arrivals during the period.
The third biggest tourism spenders in the Philippines were visitors from the United States, who injected $263.10 million (P13.68 billion) into the economy, up 28.5 percent from the same period in 2018. Visitor receipts from said market accounted for 15 percent of the total tourism receipts in the reference period.
In terms of growth rates, however, tourists from Europe have been increasing their holiday spending in the Philippines. Visitors from France, for one, saw a 79.32-percent surge in spending to $27.92 million (P1.45 billion), while those from Germany spent $28.18 million (P1.47 billion) during the two-month period in review, or 76.23-percent more than their spending in January and February 2018. Tourists from the United Kingdom also recorded a significant increase in spending in the Philippines at 45.31 percent to $42.17 million (P2.19 billion). All three countries were among the DOT’s top 10 list of big spenders in the local tourism sector.
In an interview with the BusinessMirror, Tourism Congress of the Philippines President Jose C. Clemente III said the rise in expenditures from European tourists is due to their increasing arrivals. “More Europeans are coming to the Philippines, which is a trend we noticed as early as last year. The good news is that, all things being equal, Europe will continue to be an increasing source of arrivals especially from Scandinavia and even the Benelux [Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg] region.”
Another reason, he underscored, is that many European tourists “are looking for premium destinations and establishments. [They] come to the Philippines looking for high-end destinations, experiences, as well as accommodations. Inevitably, they’re injecting more money into the economy as they look to pamper themselves and are willing to pay to do so.”
Visitor arrivals from Europe reached 736,421 in 2018, an increase of 9.03 percent from 2017. The European market accounted for 10.44 percent of the 7.06 million foreign visitors in the Philippines last year. Only the UK though made it to the top 10 source markets of tourists for the Philippines in 2018, largely due to the direct flights between London and Manila.
The DOT has always heavily promoted the Philippines in Europe as the tourists there spend more and stay longer, compared to travelers from other regions.
Meanwhile, tourists from Japan were the fourth biggest spenders in the country, accounting for $97.24 million (P5.06 billion) or a 5.56-percent share of total visitor receipts in the first two months of the year. However, the Japanese spent 32.57 percent less than what they spent in the same period in 2018.
Visitors from Canada were the fifth biggest tourism spenders at $63.35 million (P3.29 billion), a 24.33-percent increase from their spending in January and February 2018. Visitor receipts from Canada accounted for 3.62 percent of total receipts in the first two months of 2019.
The other large tourism spenders were visitors from Taiwan at $55.14 million (P2.87 billion); Australia at $53.59 million (P2.79 billion); India at $27 million (P1.4 billion); and Malaysia at $20.04 million (P1.04 billion).
Under the National Tourism Development Plan (NTDP) of 2016-2022, the DOT is aiming for P564 billion ($10.84 billion) in visitor receipts for 2019, up 39 percent from the P406.7 billion generated in 2018. Last year’s visitor receipts were much lower though than the P473-billion target for the year under the NTDP, and 9.34 percent less than the earnings generated in 2017. This could be attributed to the substantial loss in revenue from the six-month closure of Boracay Island, the second top tourist drawer for the Philippines.
Data from the DOT also show each tourist who visited in January and February 2019 spent an estimated $1,231.03 (P64,013.56), or 4.74 percent more than the per capita expenditure of tourists in the same period in 2018.
However, in terms of daily spend, tourists in the first two months of the year, averaged about $124.29 (P6,463.08), some 2.19 percent lower than their average daily expenditure in the same period in 2018.
Tourists stayed longer in the first two months of 2019, averaging 9.87 nights, compared to average of 9.25 nights in the same period last year.