The Hotel, Resort and Restaurant Association of Cebu has expressed optimism that there would be an upswing in tourism arrivals and occupancy levels in the province this year.

HRRAC president Alfred Reyes told journalists he sees domestic tourism providing the most growth potential, even if arrivals from crucial foreign markets, such as China and Japan, have yet to fully recover to pre-pandemic levels.

"This year is more promising than 2023. Everyone is hopeful for 2024. The trend is going up, and we are very optimistic that 2024 will be far better than last year in terms of tourism arrivals and occupancy," Reyes said.

He admitted that the absence of Chinese and Japanese tourists is preventing the Philippines from further increasing its foreign arrival figures.

Likewise, other challenges like accessibility and absence of free visas to promising markets such as India, a market that could replace China, have hobbled tourism growth, he added.

"The Korean market has been a big help for us, a good sign for 2024," Reyes revealed. The Korean market is already 60 percent from the 2019 levels, he explained.

The Department of Tourism said it aims to attract 7.7 million foreign tourists by 2024 after surpassing its 2023 4.8-million target with 5.4 million arrivals, generating over P480 billion in international tourism receipts.

South Korea remained the Philippines' main source of international visitors in 2023, with 1,439,336 tourists. Second was United States with 903,299; then Japan with 305,580; Australia with 266,551; and China, with 263,836.

Most other foreigners who visited the country were from Canada, Taiwan, United Kingdom, Singapore and Malaysia.

Reyes stressed that the domestic market will still be the main growth driver with the ongoing geopolitical tensions in the West Philippine Sea and challenges faced by Japan's economy.

"Because of these, the Philippines will need to further boost its domestic tourism campaign and encourage more Filipinos to travel locally as they are going to fill in rooms and provide occupancy to other tourism establishments," he pointed out.

In 2023, the average occupancy rate for hotels and resorts in Cebu was 60 percent. Mactan properties exhibited a split demographic, with 60 percent being international guests and 40 percent local, while city hotels had reverse trend, with 60 percent locals and 40 percent foreigners.

In 2019, the Philippines welcomed 8.2 million foreign tourists, with South Korea having 1.98 million and China with 1.74 million. The visitor receipts were at P482.15 billion.

HRRAC said it fully supports the initiatives of Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia-Frasco in pushing e-Visa for Chinese and Indian travelers to make the country competitive among its Asian peers.

The e-Visa system for China was pilot-tested in August 2023. But on December 1, the Department of Foreign Affairs suspended the operations of the Philippine e-Visa System in China until further notice.

India is, on the other hand, still waiting for the government's approval of e-visa for its nationals.