Tourism contributes 6.2% to Philippines' GDP in 2022

The tourism sector contributed 6.2 per cent of the Philippines' gross domestic product (GDP) in 2022, authorities said on Thursday.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said that inbound tourism expenditure posted the highest growth in 2022, from 27.63 billion pesos ($492 million) in 2021 to 368.67 billion pesos, Xinhua news agency reported.

Domestic tourism expenditure grew by 92.3 per cent, reaching 1.50 trillion pesos.

In 2022, employment in the tourism sector also improved.

Tourism industry jobs were estimated at 5.35 million, higher by 9.3 per cent compared with 4.90 million in 2021, the PSA said.

The share of employment in tourism industries to total employment in the country in 2022 was 11.4 per cent.

As a key economic driver in the Southeast Asian country, the tourism industry's contribution to the GDP stood at 12.7 per cent in 2019.

However, the Covid-19 pandemic dealt a severe blow to the tourism sector, slashing foreign arrivals and displacing almost 1.1 million service workers nationwide.