Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 1) — The number of passengers arriving in the Philippines as of end-September has plunged as COVID-19 pandemic continues to hamper international travel, the Bureau of Immigration reported over the weekend.
In a statement, the agency said 893,886 international travelers entered the country from January to September, down from 3.2 million during the nine-month period last year. This represents a 72% decline.
Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente noted that 2.8 million of the arrivals by the end of September 2020 occurred before late March, which was when the country shut down its borders in a bid to quash the spread of the disease.
“Statistics show that since January the volume of arrivals in our international ports has been averaging at only around 90,000 to 100,000 a month so we foresee this trend to persist until the end of this year,” said Morente, citing the daily cap on passenger arrivals and current travel restrictions.
Some 1.1 million travelers, meanwhile, left the country during the those nine months — 68% less than the 3.6 million count during the same period last year. Most of them were overseas Filipino workers and foreigners returning to their home countries.
The BI likewise expressed optimism for the travel industry’s rebound soon, noting efforts to relax travel restrictions as the national vaccine drive picks up its pace.
Over 27.36 million Filipinos have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as of end-October, while more than 31.955 million have received their first shot.
