THE Department of Tourism (DOT) said tourist arrivals in the country have seen increasing numbers in the first ten days after the government opened the country’s borders last February 10, 2022.
A total of 21,974 inbound tourist arrivals were reported in different airports across the country, data from One Health Pass (OHP) showed.
It said 10,074 Balikbayans and 11,900 foreign tourists arrived from February 10-19, 2022.
DOT Secretary Berna Romulo-Puyat was elated with the latest figures, expressing optimism for much better outcomes in the succeeding months.
“The recent influx of tourists reflect foreign tourists’ enthusiasm towards visiting our country, which in turn will accelerate the revival of our tourism industry,” Puyat stressed.
“We at the DOT continue to be optimistic that this trend will be sustained and will support, not only the tourism industry but also, the recovery and growth of our economy,” she added.
Tourists from the United States of America (USA) make up the largest chunk of foreign tourists during the ten-day period with 5,516 arrivals; this is followed by 1,366 from Canada; 918 from United Kingdom; 891 from Australia; 859 from South Korea; 572 from Vietnam; 459 from Japan; and 447 from Germany.
Puyat also disclosed that the COVID-19 vaccine certificates of Egypt, Maldives, Palau, Albania, Estonia, Greece, Malta, and Uruguay shall also be accepted as proofs of vaccination required upon entry to the Philippines.
The eight countries were added to the previously approved 12 countries based on Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) Resolution No. 162.
For a full list of countries whose national vaccination certificates the Philippines recognizes so far, visit https://visitor.tourism.gov.ph/vaxcert/
Meanwhile, a total of 325,271 individuals or 93 percent of the DOT’s nationwide target of 354,309 tourism workers have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as of February 18, 2022. Of this, 19.26 percent have already received their booster shots.
“The health and safety of both visitors and hosts remain our biggest priority as we open our borders to fully vaccinated tourists. This reopening is made possible by the high vaccination and booster rate of workers in tourism-related industries,” Puyat said.