The first Chinese tourists since the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1 on Tuesday afternoon.

Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia-Frasco, Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) general manager Cesar Chiong and Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian welcomed the 200 Chinese tourists who arrived on a special flight of Xiamen Airlines flight MF 819 at 4:43 pm.

“The Philippines is looking forward to welcoming Chinese tourists.. . We look forward to the significant contribution of the Chinese market to the recovery and resurgence of the Philippine travel and tourism industry," said Frasco.

Over 1.74 million Chinese tourists visited the Philippines in 2019, up 38.58 percent from 2018. They spent more than $2.3 billion , official data showed. DMS