DOT: Philippines to welcome 139 cruise ships this year

by Ghio onG Philstar.com

MANILA — The Philippines is set to welcome foreign tourists carried by up to 139 cruise ships this year, which could help in the revival of the travel industry, according to the Department of Tourism.

The DOT is expecting a total of 139 ports of call – or docking of cruise ships – at 46 destinations in the country for 2023, Tourism Secretary

Christina Garcia-Frasco said.

The figure is higher than the 102 port calls in 2019.

One of them, the Silver Spirit cruise ship carrying 317 passengers and 404 crew members, arrived at the Eva Macapagal Super Terminal at Manila South Harbor on Wednesday, February 15.

A majority of the passengers were Europeans and Americans aged 50 to 70, while 181 of the 404 crew members were Filipinos.

Frasco and Manila Mayor

Honey Lacuna led the welcome for some foreigners who disembarked from the cruise ship, accompanied by musicians holding percussion and bamboo instruments as well as street dancers and Higantes performers.

The tourists received bamboo necklaces, fans and colorful wide-brimmed hats from the DOT before they boarded tourist buses.

During a press briefing on Wednesday, Frasco said a cruise ship passenger would spend an average of $100, which could benefit local governments and businesses in tourist destinations.

This year, the DOT expects the arrival of around 117,000 tourists from the 139 cruise ships, she added.

Docking in 46 areas in the country, they would visit tourist destinations that include Manila, Batanes, Palawan, Kalanggaman Island in Leyte, Bohol, Cebu, Hundred Islands in Pangasinan, Marinduque