Marcos has also approved the launch of an online visa for Chinese, Indian, South Korean and Japanese tourists this year.
According to the Department of Tourism, the Philippines recorded 2.65 million international visitors last year, bringing in an estimated $3.68 billion in revenue, exceeding a 2022 target of 1.7 million tourists.
Last year’s total included 2.02 million foreign nationals and 628,445 Filipinos based overseas, compared to only 163,879 tourists recorded in 2021 and still well below the pre-pandemic annual level of 8.26 million.
The government aims to increase visitor arrivals to 4.8 million tourists this year.