The share of the tourism sector to the country’s economy reached more than 8 percent last year, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.

Data released by the PSA on Tuesday showed that based on the Philippine Tourism Satellite Account, the share of Tourism Direct Gross Value Added (TDGVA) to the Philippine economy as measured by the gross domestic product (GDP) was estimated at 8.6 percent in 2023.

The TDGVA during the period amounted to PHP2.09 trillion, higher by 47.9 percent than the PHP1.41 trillion in 2022.

“This is the highest growth of tourism since the start of the data compilation in the year 2000,” the PSA said.

Compiled annually, the Tourism Satellite Account captures accommodation services, food and beverage serving activities, transport services, travel agencies and other reservation services, entertainment and recreation services, shopping, and miscellaneous services.

According to the PSA, among the forms of tourism expenditures, inbound tourism expenditure posted the highest growth of 87.7 percent, amounting to PHP697.46 billion.

This was followed by domestic tourism expenditure which grew by 72.3 percent, from PHP1.55 trillion in 2022 to PHP2.67 trillion last year.

Outbound tourism expenditure went up by 10 percent to PHP189.29 billion while internal tourism expenditure which comprises inbound and domestic tourism expenditure, grew by 75.3 percent to PHP3.36 trillion.

The PSA said the share of employment in tourism industries to the total employment in the country in 2023 was recorded at 12.9 percent.

“Employment in tourism characteristic industries was estimated at 6.21 million in 2023, higher by 6.4 percent compared with the 5.84 million employment in tourism characteristic industries in 2022,” the PSA said. (PNA)