Popular destinations within the Philippines are mainly:
- the island of Boracay with a particularly white and fine sandy beach
- the capital and metropolis Manila
- Cebu City together with the neighboring regions and diving spots
- the island of Bohol with the Chocolate Hills, nature parks and diving areas
- the northern Palawan (El Nido and Coron Island) with its large national park and countless small islands.
Development of the tourism sector in the Philippines from 1995 to 2021
The following chart shows the number of tourist arrivals registered in the Philippines each year. Anyone who spends at least one night in the country but does not live there for more than 12 months is considered a tourist. Insofar as the survey included the purpose of the trip, business trips and other non-tourism travel purposes have already been excluded. The number of people passing through within the same day, and e.g., crew members of ships or flights are also not considered tourists in most countries. If the same person travels in and out more than once within the same year, each visit counts again.
Data in the chart are given in millions of tourists. The red line represents the average of all 9 countries in Southeast Asia.
Revenues from tourism
In 1995, tourism revenues amounted to 1.14 billion USD, or about 1.3 percent of the gross national product. Within 26 years, the country's dependence on tourism has increased drastically. Before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, sales were $11.46 billion billion, 3.0 percent of gross national product.
In 2020, tourist receipts plummeted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Of the $11.46 billion billion (2019), only $2.77 billion billion remained. This is a 76 percent decrease in the Philippines.
On average, each of the tourists arriving in 2021 spent about 5,698 US dollars.
All data for the Philippines in detail
| Year | Number | Receipts | % of GNP |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 164,000 | 984.00 m $ | 0.25 % |
| 2020 | 1.48 m | 2.77 bn $ | 0.77 % |
| 2019 | 8.26 m | 11.46 bn $ | 3.0 % |
| 2018 | 7.17 m | 9.72 bn $ | 2.8 % |
| 2017 | 6.62 m | 8.35 bn $ | 2.5 % |
| 2016 | 5.97 m | 6.29 bn $ | 2.0 % |
| 2015 | 5.36 m | 6.41 bn $ | 2.1 % |
| 2014 | 4.83 m | 6.06 bn $ | 2.0 % |
| 2013 | 4.68 m | 5.60 bn $ | 2.0 % |
| 2012 | 4.27 m | 4.96 bn $ | 1.9 % |
| 2011 | 3.92 m | 4.05 bn $ | 1.7 % |
| 2010 | 3.52 m | 3.44 bn $ | 1.7 % |
| 2009 | 3.02 m | 2.92 bn $ | 1.7 % |
| 2008 | 3.14 m | 3.29 bn $ | 1.8 % |
| 2007 | 3.09 m | 5.52 bn $ | 3.5 % |
| 2006 | 2.84 m | 4.05 bn $ | 3.2 % |
| 2005 | 2.62 m | 2.86 bn $ | 2.7 % |
| 2004 | 2.29 m | 2.39 bn $ | 2.5 % |
| 2003 | 1.91 m | 1.82 bn $ | 2.1 % |
| 2002 | 1.93 m | 2.02 bn $ | 2.4 % |
| 2001 | 1.80 m | 2.01 bn $ | 2.5 % |
| 2000 | 1.99 m | 2.33 bn $ | 2.8 % |
| 1999 | 2.17 m | 2.65 bn $ | 3.1 % |
| 1998 | 2.15 m | 1.43 bn $ | 1.9 % |
| 1997 | 2.22 m | 2.35 bn $ | 2.5 % |
| 1996 | 2.05 m | 1.55 bn $ | 1.6 % |
| 1995 | 1.76 m | 1.14 bn $ | 1.3 % |
Our data on tourist numbers, revenues and expenditures are based on information from the World Tourism Organization. However, to ensure international comparability, the data for some years or countries were manually researched and corrected if they obviously included visitors without overnight stays. In these cases, the data were taken from the official communications of the respective national tourism authorities.
The World Tourism Organization additionally points out that in some countries, the number of tourists is only counted at airports, while in others they are also counted at border crossings or even hotels. A comprehensive and reliable indication is therefore hardly possible in any country.
