Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco announced that as of Monday, the Department of Tourism (DOT) has breached its 2022 target foreign visitors arrivals.

“As of today, we have received 1,767,791 foreign visitors arrivals, exceeding the 1.7 million visitors for 2022 projected by the DOT prior to June 30,” Frasco told the Philippine Tourism Industry Reception.

Tourism players gathered in a unified show of force to rally behind the DOT efforts to transform the Philippines into a tourism powerhouse in Asia.

Delivering his speech as the reception's guest of honor, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. expressed his bullishness on the prospect of tourism recovery, citing the industry’s crucial role as a high potential driver for the transformation of the Philippine economy.

“Very early on, even before I took office, in consultation with our economic managers, with private businessmen, it became very clear that as we transform our economy, one of the high potential drivers for the transformation of the economy is tourism. This is a driver of our economy. We must immediately do all that we can to make sure that this asset that the Philippines has, be used to bring good jobs to people and to once again re-introduce the Philippines to the world,” Marcos said.

“We fully understand how tourism can drive our social and economic recovery, especially in the countryside. Given the majestic natural wonders and exciting man-made sites that we have within the Philippines. Following the pandemic, we need fresh and new ideas to bring back the imagination and confidence of our people here and abroad so that they can be encouraged to explore the best destinations that the country can offer,” he added.

Meanwhile, Marcos also lauded Frasco for what she has accomplished as tourism chief in less than four months and for “showing we have very much to look forward to when it comes to the area of tourism”.

“So I congratulate the Department of Tourism for all they have done. I would like to explain to you that you know when Secretary Christina first took on the Secretary of Department of Tourism, she moves so quickly that I had to talk to the others in the Cabinet and I said, You know she’s making us look bad. We better quicken our game. So she keeps us on our toes and she has always kept a very, very clear idea in her mind of what we are trying to achieve. And she has brought a passion and an energy that certainly we are going to need. But it is a passion and an energy that gives us confidence that we will succeed,” said Marcos.

“Allow me to repeat that this administration will remain committed to ensuring that the inputs you (Secretary Frasco) have acquired from your listening tours will be optimized for the benefit of the sector,” he added. DOT Office of Public Affairs and Advocacy