Being a Global Citizen: Philippine Culture and Society: Tourism in the Philippines: Statistics

City of Manila

Manila City skyline view from Harbour Square

Makati City

Makati City skyline

Tourism is an important sector for the Philippine economy, contributing 7.8% to the Philippine gross domestic product (GDP) in 2014.^[2]
Philippines is an archipelagic country composed of 7,107 islands with 82 provinces divided in 18 regions. Philippines is known for having its rich biodiversity and it is the main tourist attraction in the country.^[3] Its beaches, mountains, rainforests, islands and diving spots are among the country's most popular tourist destinations. The country's rich historical and cultural heritage is also one of the attractions of the Philippines.
Popular destinations among tourists are El Nido in Palawan, Boracay, Cebu, Manila and many more.

Since 2010, South Korea has been the largest source of visitors to the Philippines. In 2013, a total of 1.17 million South Koreans visited the Philippines. It is followed by the United States, Japan, China, Australia, Taiwan, and Canada.^[5] In 2013, the country attracted 4,681,307 visitors.^[5]
In 2014, the Department of Tourism announced that the year 2015 will be the Visit the Philippines year.

Arrivals

Tourism Statistics^[20]
Year	Foreign Tourists
1996	1,049,367
1997	1,222,523
1998	1,149,357
1999	1,170,514
2000	1,992,169
2001	1,796,893
2002	1,932,677
2003	1,907,226
2004	2,291,347
2005	2,623,084
2006	2,843,335
2007	3,091,993
2008	3,139,422
2009	3,017,099
2010	3,520,471
2011	3,917,454
2012	4,272,811^[21]
2013	4,681,307^[22]
2014	4,833,368^[23]
2015	5,360,682^[24]
Jan-Feb 2016	1,091,983^[25]

Top 20 international visitors

Rank	Country	Jan-Feb 2016	2015	2014	2013	2012	2011
1	South Korea	284,763	1,339,678	1,175,472	1,165,789	1,031,155	925,204
2	United States	155,796	779,217	722,750	674,564	652,626	624,527
3	China	130,916	490,641	394,951	426,352	250,883	243,137
4	Japan	92,531	495,662	463,744	433,705	412,474	375,496
5	Australia	43,712	241,187	224,784	213,023	191,150	170,736
6	Canada	36,773	156,363	143,899	131,381	123,699	117,423
7	Taiwan	35,344	177,670	142,973	139,099	216,511	181,738
8	Singapore	28,376	181,175	179,099	175,034	148,215	137,802
9	United Kingdom	28,238	154,589	133,665	122,759	113,282	112,106
10	Malaysia	23,990	155,814	139,245	109,437	114,513	91,752
11	Hong Kong		122,180	126,008	114,100	118,666	112,106
12	Germany		75,348	72,801	70,949	67,203	61,193
13	India		74,824	61,152	52,206	46,395	42,844
14	Saudi Arabia		50,884	43,483	38,969	30,040	27,945
15	Indonesia	8,824	48,178	46,757	45,582	36,627	34,542
16	France	12,502	45,505	38,946	39,042	33,709	29,591
17	Thailand		44,038	45,943	47,847	40,987	37,862
18	Russia		35,378	38,976	41,254	33,729	23,908
19	Guam		35,262
20	Vietnam		31,579