Phl tourism logs net trade surplus

The Department of Tourism (DoT) welcomed another record for the Philippine tourism industry in 2023, as the country recorded a net trade surplus in travel services for the first time in 15 years.

Based on the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) data, the country successfully breached the $100 billion export of goods and services mark, $2.45 billion of which was in net trade travel services, while travel services export receipts reached $9.1 billion, doubling the level in 2022 and constitutes 93.2 percent of 2019 travel export receipts level.

Trade surplus means that the spending by international travelers to the Philippines is greater than what Filipinos spend overseas.

Also, the BSP report said travel services in 2023 contributed an impressive 18.9 percent share to the country’s total service exports of $48.28 billion.

Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco hails this development as a testament to the collective efforts and dedication of stakeholders in realizing President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s vision of positioning the Philippines as a tourism powerhouse in Asia.

“As we continue to work towards achieving our targets for 2024 and the years to come, we endeavor to cement tourism’s position as a major economic pillar for the country. We count on the continued support of our partners in the public and the private sectors in delivering our strategies under the approved National Tourism Development Plan (NTDP) 2023 to 2028, and as far as fulfilling the DoT’s mandate on tourism promotions go, to be able to diversify the country’s tourism product portfolio to cater to more market segments and to highlight offerings, going beyond the already established tourism offerings and places, increasing accessibility to these destinations, and celebrating with our tourists the many reasons to Love the Philippines,” Secretary Frasco said.

The Philippines welcomed 5.45 million international visitors in 2023, successfully breaching its year-end target of 4.8 million.

Taking the helm of the DoT in 2022, under the leadership of Secretary Frasco, the DoT had undertaken a multidimensional approach towards sustainable tourism development, putting connectivity, convenience, and equality at the core of its strategies.

Investing in hard and soft tourism infrastructure

With connectivity as one of its key strategies, the DoT continued to strengthen its collaboration with the Department of Public Works and Highways in continuing existing projects, as well as identifying new projects under the Tourism Road Infrastructure Program or TRIP.

The DoT, in coordination with the Department of Transportation and partners in the aviation industry, also actively lobbied for the enhancement of the country’s gateways and the maximization of key international gateways such as Clark and Cebu airports to increase the accessibility of tourism destinations.

The DoT, through its infrastructure arm, the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority, has constructed flagship Tourist Rest Areas in key locations nationwide to provide convenience to travelers.

Each TRA comes equipped with an information desk, clean restrooms, a lounge area, a breastfeeding room for lactating mothers, and a pasalubong center for showcasing local crafts and products.