OFWs spend much for Holiday season 'pasalubong'

Aside from their remittances of millions of pesos annually, Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are spending much for "pasalubong" during the Holiday season.

Lui Ferrer, Duty Free Philippines (DFP) marketing head, said returning Filipino workers from October to December were spending an average of US$ 300 to US$ 4,500 to buy gifts for their household and kins.

Majority of the balikbayans are from the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, Middle East and Europe.

Ferrer said the big spenders were nurses, seafarers and professional workers who sometimes spent over US$ 5,000."Majority of our customers really are OFWs and they love to spend for their families for their gifts," Ferrer said in an interview.

A Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) data showed that 900,000 to one million OFWs and Balikbayans were returning home during the Christmas season.

For an average US$ 300 [which an OFW spends], DFP earned an income of US$ 270 million or roughly around P12.5 billion in the three-month period.

Ferrer said since OFWs and Balikbayans were their main clients they were introducing a new scheme for the returning Filipino workers during the holiday season.

The new discount rate for the workers would enable them to avail and buy more products at a discounted price.

Ferrer said they were now in the process of categorizing the OFWs from nurses, seafarers, entertainers, etc., for them to give discounts for each sector.

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