The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reports that the tourism sector contributed about 8.9 percent to the country’s 2024 gross domestic product (GDP).
In its Philippine Tourism Satellite Account (PTSA) report released yesterday, 19th June, the PSA pointed out that tourism’s share in 2024 was up from the 8.7 percent shown in 2023.
Released annually, the PTSA reports all visitor spending in accommodation services, food and beverage, transport services, travel agencies, entertainment, recreation, and shopping, among others.
The Tourism Direct Gross Value Added (TDGVA), an indicator that measures the value added of the tourism industry, amounted to PHP2.35 trillion last year, 11.2 percent higher than the PHP2.12 trillion in 2023.
Tourism generated more employment in 2024
Employment in the tourism sector also posted a 6.1 percent increase to 6.75 million, compared to 6.37 million in 2023.
According to a PSA spokesperson: “The share of employment in tourism industries to the total employment in the country was recorded at 13.8 percent in 2024.”
The report also showed that domestic tourism expenditure grew by 16.4 percent from PHP2.71 trillion in 2023 to PHP3.16 trillion last year.
Inbound tourism expenditure posted lower growth of 0.4 percent to PHP699.98 billion last year, compared to PHP697.49 billion.
Outbound tourism expenditure, or spending by Filipinos abroad, posted the highest annual growth of 37.5 percent last year at PHP345.68 billion.