Amid the six-month closure of Boracay and other challenges, the tourism sector posted its lowest total contribution to the economy in five years, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
Based on the Tourism Satellite Accounts, the total direct gross value added (TDGVA) of the tourism sector grew 14.3 percent, the slowest growth posted by the sector since 2013 when its contribution grew 12.6 percent.
The TDGVA of the tourism sector posted its highest growth in 2017 at 24.2 percent and in 2014 at 20.1 percent. The TDGVA grew 19.4 percent in 2015 and 15 percent in 2016.
“TDGVA serves as the indicator to measure the value added of different industries in relation to tourism activities of both inbound and domestic visitors in the country,” PSA said in the latest Philippine Tourism Satellite Accounts (PTSA) report.
The industry that contributed the most to the TDGVA of the tourism sector was accommodation services for visitors, which accounted for 18.1 percent in 2018.
However, the accommodation and services for visitors posted a growth of 19.6 percent in 2018, the slowest in the past five years when the growth of the industry was at 19.2 percent.
The food and beverage serving services posted the lowest contribution of 4.1 percent in 2018. This industry also posted the slowest growth in the past five years at only 9.2 percent in 2018.
Prior to last year, the growth of the food and beverage serving services was at 37.1 percent in 2017; 15.2 percent in 2016; 21.9 percent in 2015; 20.3 percent in 2014; and 20.2 percent in 2013.
PSA data also showed that employment in tourism characteristic industries was estimated at 5.4 million in 2018, higher by 1.8 percent compared to 5.3 million in the previous year.
This was faster than the 0.8-percent growth in 2017 but was nowhere near the growth of 5.1 percent posted in 2016. Prior to 2016, employment in tourism grew 3.2 percent in 2015 and 2013 as well as 2.3 percent in 2014.
Share of employment in tourism industries to total employment in the country was recorded at 13 percent in 2018, slightly lower than the 13.1-percent share of the sector in 2017.
In terms of its share, PSA data showed that the TDGVA contributed 12.7 percent to the country’s GDP, the highest in the past six years.
Data showed the TDGVA of the tourism sector contributed 12.1 percent in 2017; 10.7 percent in 2016; 10.1 percent in 2015; 9 percent in 2014; 8.2 percent in 2013; and 7.9 percent in 2012.
Inbound tourism expenditure, which refers to the expenditure of nonresident visitors (foreign visitors and Filipinos permanently residing abroad) within the Philippines, declined by 1.6 percent in 2018, amounting to P441.4 billion from P448.6 billion in 2017.
Compared to the country’s total exports, the share of inbound tourism expenditure was 8 percent. Inbound tourism ranked third among the biggest export items in 2018, after miscellaneous services at 31.5 percent and semiconductors at 22.8 percent.
Domestic tourism expenditure, which includes expenditure of resident visitors within the country either as domestic trip or part of an international trip, grew by 21 percent, to P3.2 trillion in 2018 from P2.6 trillion in 2017.
Domestic tourism expenditure represents 24.9 percent of the household final consumption expenditure (HFCE) in 2018.
The TDGVA estimate is based on the latest results of the PTSA which also provides information on tourism expenditure and employment in 2018.
The PTSA is compiled by the PSA based on the international recommendations for tourism statistics and tourism satellite accounts of the United Nations World Tourism Organization.
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