Department of Tourism (DOT) Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco welcomed the Publicus Asia survey result which placed the tourism agency among top three government agencies with the highest approval rating nationwide.
The survey, conducted between Nov. 25 to 30 this year, also ranked the DOT eight in terms of trust rating from the public.
“We are grateful for the Filipino people’s positive response and support for the work we have done in the past six months to usher in the recovery of the tourism industry,” Frasco said.
“We are optimistic that just as we have greatly exceeded our targets this year, 2023 will usher in more record-breaking numbers, translating to more livelihood and employment opportunities for our fellow Filipinos.”
“Guided by the vision of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for tourism to be a strong engine of socio-economic growth, we are optimistic that just as we have greatly exceeded our targets this year, 2023 will usher in more record-breaking numbers, translating to more livelihood and employment opportunities for our fellow Filipinos,” the tourism chief stressed.
“We are thankful for our continued partnership and collaboration with the hardworking men and women of the Philippine tourism industry from the public and private sectors across the country,” the tourism head added.
“The DOT is targeting 4.8 million international visitors for 2023 as our baseline.”
During the DOT’s year-end media briefing at the Sheraton Hotel, she shared that the department is targeting 4.8 million international visitors for 2023 as its baseline.
Frasco said it is seeing its 2023 projections with full optimism as the industry targets have been recalibrated after exceeding the targets before year-end.
The DOT had initially projected 1.7 million tourist arrivals this year but the actual count recorded as of Dec. 19 has reached 2.46 million guests.
She said the department will close the year with a promising trajectory of 2.5 million visitor arrivals accounting to close to 30 percent of the industry’s pre-pandemic arrivals data when the Philippines recorded 8.3 million arrivals in 2019.
Frasco said the new projections are made with consideration of factors that are beyond the control of the department, such as the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, rising fuel prices, inflation and the continued lockdowns in China which, for the longest time, has been the top tourist market of the Philippines.
“We look at it with optimism in a sense that our goal is to exceed our conservative projections in the same way that we have been able to exceed it this year,” she stressed.
“And we feel that we would be able to exceed our pre-pandemic numbers way earlier than the 2025 year that was told to us when we assumed office with the improved policies under the Marcos administration,” Frasco added.
