The Bureau of Immigration (BI) said that it expects around 1.5M total arrivals during the last month of the year.
BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco said that travel trends show a major increase in travelers in 2023. By the Q2 of 2023, Tansingco said that the BI started recording around one million arrivals per month, a far cry from the less than 100,000 arrivals per month during the height of the pandemic.
Tansingco shared that for November 2023, the BI recorded a total of 1,160,699 arriving passengers, almost half of which are foreign nationals.
This, Tansingco said, reflects that the aggressive tourism campaigns of the government is working.
Prior to the pandemic, the BI recorded 1.7M arrivals during December. The total number of arriving passengers for the entire year is already 79% higher than in 2022.
Meanwhile, Tansingco shared that Filipino outbound tourism has also bounced back. In November, the agency saw almost 1.1M departures, a figure already very close to the 1.3M recorded in November 2019.
The BI Chief shared that they have beefed up their manpower, and have deployed augmentation teams and mobile counters to ensure smooth operations during the holiday season.
Geneva Cruz stuns international delegates, showcases tourist destinations in BI event
Multi-platinum Filipina singer and actress Geneva Cruz stunned international delegates in her jaw-dropping performance during an event of the Bureau of Immigration (BI) last December 6.
Geneva sang the hit Paraiso, sung by her former group Smokey Mountain during the welcome dinner of the event of the United Nations Office of Counter Terrorism (UNOCT), which the BI co-chaired.
The event, dubbed as the Southeast Asia Regional Informal Working Group (IWG) on Advance Passenger Information (API), and Passenger Name Record (PNR), was a two-day forum which started last December 6, and was attended by around 100 delegates representing law enforcement, civil aviation, and counter-terrorism agencies from over 10 countries and member states.
During her performance, Geneva wore a dazzling gold dress, with a ballroom skirt, which projected different tourist destinations in the country.
Geneva’s gown brought the international attendees of the event to Philippine destinations such as Bohol, Boracay, Palawan, Vigan, and even featured native Philippine delicacies.
The more than four-minute performance showcased Geneva’s vocal prowess, and entertained the delegates hailing from Singapore, Thailand, Australia, Vietnam, among others.
In 2022, Geneva earned the rank of sergeant after completing her military training under the Philippine Air Force Reserve Command.
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