- Davao City records uptick in visitors in 2024
THE CITY Tourism Operations Office (CTOO) recorded a 50% increase in tourist arrival in 2024 against the approximately 1.2 million visitors in 2023.
“There’s a significant increase of the arrivals for last year and this is because also na nag full blast ang atoang tourism events and ang atoang tourism activities,” CTOO officer in charge Jennifer Romero said during the iSpeak Media Forum on Jan 23.
August ranked first as the month with the most tourist arrivals with 190,068, primarily due to two major events—the 39th Kadayawan Festival and the IRONMAN 70.3. This was followed by December, which registered 178,555 visitors from its Pasko Fiesta 2024 celebration.
Romero said that 2019 had the highest recorded number of tourist arrivals in Davao City with 2.5 million. However, she said they hope to surpass the number this year as they will institutionalize other events like the Duaw Dabaw on top of the Araw ng Dabaw and Kadayawan Festival.
Another milestone this year is the 40th anniversary of the Kadayawan Festival.
She also shared that the CTOO is working with the Department of Tourism XI (DOT) to craft a tourism development plan to promote the city and Southern Mindanao.
“We need to align and consolidate our efforts sa Davao Region because when we sell our Davao City, it’s not only Davao City but the entire region. So, dapat mag compliment siya because Davao City is the gateway of the Davao Region,” she said.
The upcoming event for the year 2025 will include the Chinese New Year celebration that will take place on Jan 28 as the city invited the Chinese community and the Chinese Consulate General in Davao to join.
