MANILA: The Philippines’ tourism sector has been recovering faster than expected, the government said, as receipts from international visitors in 2023 reached pre-pandemic levels.

Known for its white sandy beaches, famous diving spots and diverse culture, the Philippines is dependent on the hospitality sector. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly 8.3 million foreigners visited the country in 2019, according to Department of Tourism data.

“The year 2023 is a win for the Philippine tourism industry,” the department said in its year-end report released on Tuesday.

“The country’s international tourism receipts have surged to an estimate of PHP482.54 billion ($8.67 billion) from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2023 … In 2019, or pre-pandemic period, the DOT recorded PHP482.15 billion in international tourism receipts.”

The revenue figure was almost double the amount generated in 2022.

Nearly 5.5 million international visitors visited the Philippines last year, which was 650,000 more than targeted and about 66 percent of the “all-time high international visitor arrivals achieved in 2019,” the report said.

The majority came from South Korea (26 percent), followed by the US (17 percent) and Japan (6 percent). China, which is traditionally the country’s main source of visitors, accounted for just 4.8 percent of the total in 2023.

The tourism department said it was targeting 7.7 million international visitors in 2024 as the government aimed to make the Philippines a “tourism powerhouse” in Asia.

At the World Travel Awards in 2023, the Philippines was named the world’s top destination for diving and beaches, while Manila picked up the best city destination. The country was also named as Asia’s best destination for cruises and won the WTA’s Global Tourism Resilience Award.

The Philippines also picked up the Emerging Muslim-friendly Destination of the Year award at the 2023 Halal in Travel Global Summit in Singapore.

The honors were “testament that the Philippines is indeed an emerging tourism powerhouse,” Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco said.

“The extraordinary journey of Philippine tourism in 2023 saw the world express its love for the Philippines with our country’s rise to global prominence.”