Tourists deal with the heat  in Puerto Princesa in Palawan on April 10, 2024. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News

MANILA -- More than 2 million tourists have so far arrived in the Philippines this year, the Department of Tourism (DOT) said Wednesday. 

In a statement, the DOT said 2,010,522 international visitors have entered the country as of April 24. About 1.9 million of these are foreign tourists, while the remaining 116,446 are overseas Filipinos.

Most of the foreign tourists who have arrived in the country are South Koreans--the DOT said 546,726 of them have visited the Philippines. They are followed by guests from the United States at 315,816 arrivals.

They are followed by the Chinese (130,574), Japanese (123,204),  and Australians (88,048).

Canada, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, Singapore, and Germany were also among the leading sources of international tourists to the Philippines.

Tourism receipts have also hit P157.62 billion from January to March--higher than the P130.59 billion revenue in the same period in 2019, or the year before the COVID-19 pandemic-induced lockdowns. 

The Philippines is eyeing 7.7 million international tourist arrivals in 2024.

Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco is optimistic about growth in tourist arrivals this year.

"We are hopeful that with more investments in tourism infrastructure as well as much needed increase in connectivity as well as improvements in air, land, and sea infrastructure and accessibility, the numbers can further increase," she said. 

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