The Department of Tourism on Thursday confirmed that international tourist arrivals have already reached the 2 million mark, raking in P157.62 billion in tourism receipts as of 31 March 2024.

According to the DoT, the said amount translates to an estimated 120.70 percent recovery rate from the P130.59 billion revenue gained from the same period in 2019 or the milestone year for Philippine tourism before the global lockdowns and industry standstill.

On the other hand, the latest data based on the DoT monitoring as of 24 April showed a total of 2,010,522 international visitors entered the country, with 94.21 percent or 1,894,076 of the country’s total international arrivals delivered by foreign tourists, while 5.79 percent or 116,446 are overseas Filipinos.

The numbers are 15.11 percent higher than the international arrivals recorded in the same period last year pegged at 1,746,630.

South Korea maintains its spot as the Philippines’ top source market in terms of inbound visitor arrivals with 27.19 percent or 546,726, followed by the United States that delivered 315,816 (15.71 percent), China with 130,574 (6.49 percent), Japan with 123,204 (6.13 percent), and Australia with 88,048 (4.38 percent).

Canada, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, Singapore, and Germany ranked sixth to tenth, respectively.

“The Department of Tourism sees a positive trajectory for the country’s international tourist arrivals this year. We are glad that the collaboration and collective effort and hard work are materializing into figures that are beneficial for the entire industry. We are hopeful that with more investments in tourism infrastructure as well as much needed increase in connectivity as well as improvements in air, land, and sea infrastructure and accessibility, the numbers can further increase," Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco said.