FOREIGN tourists are now staying longer and spending more during their visits to the Philippines, Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco said Wednesday. From an average of nine nights, tourists are now staying up to 11 nights during their visits to the various tourism destinations throughout the country, Frasco said during the Kapihan sa Manila Hotel media forum. Frasco said tourists were also now spending more, with visitor receipts having had a recovery of over 111 percent, constituting over P3.36 trillion from 2023 up to the present and surpassing the month-on-month visitor receipts compared to 2019. Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco. She pointed out that visitor receipts were "the numbers that matter" as these represent the money that comes into the coffers of the economy. "It is the livelihood that continues to uplift the lives of Filipinos and generate employment that feeds Filipino families," Frasco said. She said this "robust performance" is a result of the Department of Tourism's (DoT) "recalibration of the value-proposition of Philippine tourism." "How to make tourists stay longer and spend more — these have been the focus of the DoT," she said. She said this was what they learned during the pandemic and from post-pandemic global trends — "that people are willing to stay longer and spend more if we are able to provide them with a convenient and comfortable experience, one that brings value to them as travelers." Meanwhile, visitor arrivals this year have been pegged at 7.7 million. However, Frasco said they considered this number a "moving target." "On the one hand, we do have tail-winds in a sense that there is robust interest in our domestic tourism performance as well as our tourism markets all over the world," said the Tourism chief. "On the other hand, we do face headwinds, especially in terms of visa policies or entry into the country, which, comparative to Asean neighbors, are not as liberal as we would want them to be," she added. She said the country also had infrastructure challenges currently being addressed in pursuit of the directive of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to "elevate the status of Philippine tourism in Southeast Asia." "From the very beginning of his administration, President Marcos clearly articulated to the nation that tourism is a priority of his government," Frasco said. She said to strengthen the foundation of Philippine tourism and make it globally competitive, the government examined the pillars of tourism that needed intervention in the short-, medium- and long-term. "It was determined that the most prominent area where intervention is needed was infrastructure," said Frasco. This is now the primary objective of the National Tourism Development Plan: to introduce infrastructure, connectivity and digitalization into the tourism landscape, she said. "We very much welcome the President's initiative to speed up and prioritize the expansion of our airports," said Frasco. She said the DoT was being very realistic about the targets that were set and was preparing for the challenges it would continue to handle.
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