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THE GIST
NEWS AND FEATURES
Global Philippines Fine Living
INSIGHTS
INVESTMENT STRATEGY
Economy Stocks Bonds Currencies
THE BASICS
Investment Tips Explainers Retirement
WEBINARS
2024 Mid-Year Economi Briefing, economic growth in the Philippines
2024 Mid-Year Economic Briefing: Navigating the Easing Cycle
June 21, 2024
Investing with Love
Investing with Love: A Mother’s Guide to Putting Money to Work
May 15, 2024
retirement-ss-3
Investor Series: An Introduction to Estate Planning
September 1, 2023
View All Webinars
DOWNLOADS
grocery-2-aa
Economic Updates
Inflation Update: Prices rise even slower in May 
June 5, 2025 DOWNLOAD
Buildings in the Makati Central Business District
Economic Updates
Monthly Recap: BSP to outpace the Fed in rate cuts 
May 29, 2025 DOWNLOAD
economy-ss-9
Economic Updates
Quarterly Economic Growth Release: 5.4% Q12025
May 8, 2025 DOWNLOAD
View all Reports
Economy 2 MIN READ

With music and gifts, Philippines welcomes back Chinese tourists

January 24, 2023By Reuters
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MANILA, Jan 24 (Reuters) – Filipinos in traditional attire on Tuesday played bamboo marimbas and handed out necklaces and gifts to their first Chinese visitors since before the pandemic, seeking to lure back tourists after China’s scrapping of its COVID-19 curbs.

Chinese travelers no longer need to quarantine on return home and holiday bookings have surged from what was the world’s largest outbound travel market in 2019.

“After three years I got to visit Manila again from China. It feels great, so many happy places,” said Anthony Lee, a 38-year-old Chinese businessman who was among about 200 passengers who arrived on the Xiamen Airlines flight to Manila, the first since 2020.

China was the Philippines’ second-largest tourism market, with 1.7 million visitors in 2019, government data showed.

Only 39,627 people from China visited last year, when the Philippines started relaxing its restrictions.

“I have not gone to any countries. I am very happy now,” said Atsushih Amemye, 28, after he passed through immigration.

The once USD 255 billion annual global spending by Chinese tourists ground to a virtual halt during the pandemic and left a hole in the Asian market.

The Philippines, known for its powdery white sand beaches and lush marine life, is targeting 4.8 million foreign tourists this year, after 2.6 million in 2022.

“We anticipate even more Chinese tourists to arrive, which will greatly help us in our effort to transform and recover the tourism industry,” Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco told reporters.

“Our intention is not only to regain our pre-pandemic numbers but to exceed it.”

(Reporting by Adrian Portugal; Writing by Neil Jerome Morales; Editing by Martin Petty and Timothy Heritage)

 

This article originally appeared on reuters.com

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