THE CITY Tourism Operations Office (CTOO) recorded a total of 1,022,945 tourist arrivals from January to October 2023, translating to a 45.6% increase compared to the same period last year which stood at 702,722 in total.
Jennifer Romero, CTOO head, attributed the increase to various activities and events the city had offered throughout the year after lifting the pandemic restrictions.
“This year, daghan najud og activities, MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) booking is one, the travel is back already in full swing, we now have more international flights, and MICE events are here consistently in Davao City, and the in-and-out mobility,” Romero said.
Based on the CTOO data, the major influx of tourist arrivals was mostly domestic with a total of 956,705, followed by 57,342 foreign tourists, and 8,898 from overseas Filipinos.
Romero also stressed that they were still positive to reach the 1.5-million target for this year, expecting tourist arrivals for the city’s Christmas events.
“We are still gearing towards our target because mag-full blast pa man gyud ‘ta. This is really a good indication that we already hit a one-million mark, and we still have November and December,” she said.
