The British Chamber of Commerce Philippines (BCCP) emphasized the opportunities within the Philippines tourism industry that can further boost its potential as a tourism hub in the region for British and other foreign visitors.
Having visited the Masungi Georeserve, a conservation and geotourism site, also known for being the ‘ark of biodiversity,’ BCCP Executive Director/Trustee Chris Nelson expressed the potential of further promoting foreign tourist arrivals in the country, which is one of the key priorities of the government through enhancing mobility and connectivity to further drive the overall economic growth.
“If you look at tourism, the Philippines have still not yet recovered from its pre-pandemic figures. I think there are opportunities in the UK and I would like to highlight to people when they come to the Philippines, they know of certain areas such as Masungi Georeserve–aside from the more popular ones such as Palawan, Bohol, Boracay and many others, and the fact that the country is making efforts to preserve the ecosystem.” Nelson said in an interview.
As presented by Senator Win Gatchalian during the SGV Tax Symposium, the Philippines’ average inbound tourist arrivals in the post-pandemic (2020-2022), recorded only 19.5% of the pre-pandemic (2017-2019) figures–noting a ‘long path to recovery.’ The tourism sector’s contribution to the country’s GDP is also below the pre-pandemic figure reaching 8.6% in F.Y. 2023, in comparison with 12.9% in F.Y. 2019.
To further assist in the sector’s recovery, Sen. Gatchalian cited the recently-signed Republic Act No. 12079 VAT Refund Mechanism for Non-Resident Tourists which allows non-resident tourists to claim for a VAT refund on locally purchased goods amounting to Php3,000 per transaction. This legislation marked the Philippines to join the 4 countries in Southeast Asia and 70 countries worldwide that mandates VAT refund for tourists.
In 2024, the Department of Tourism (DOT) set the year-end target of 7.7 million tourist arrivals and recorded 5.9 million foreign visitors, marking a 9.15% increase from 2023. The British Chamber also extended its support to the recent Philippine Economic Briefing last October and the visit of the DOT at the 2024 World Travel Market (WTM) in London last November 2024, highlighting the United Kingdom as the “leading and top European source of visitors, ranking as the Philippines’ ninth-largest source market.” As of 01 January 2025, the DOT reported that the UK Foreign Tourists to the Philippines reached 160,296 in 2024, almost 4% increase from 154,698 in 2023.
