Tourist arrivals in the Philippines experienced a modest decline in the first four months of 2025, totaling 2.10 million visitors compared to 2.12 million during the same period last year, data from the Department of Tourism showed.
The slight decrease in tourist arrivals reflects challenges in key East Asian markets, which have traditionally been strong sources of visitors.
In April alone, the country welcomed 450,493 international tourists, a decrease from 459,453 in April 2024.
The downturn was primarily attributed to significant drops in arrivals from South Korea, China, and Taiwan. South Korean visitors, the largest group of foreign tourists to the Philippines, fell by 18 percent to 468,337 in the January-April period. Chinese arrivals plummeted by 34 percent to 92,659, while Taiwanese visitors decreased by 11 percent to 59,593.
Conversely, the United States, Japan, Australia, and Canada showed positive growth. U.S. visitors increased by 9 percent to 360,799, Japanese arrivals rose 18 percent to 156,532, Australian tourists jumped 19 percent to 111,113, and Canadian visitors grew 16 percent to 99,152. These increases helped offset the declines from East Asia.
Despite the early-year challenges, the Department of Tourism remains optimistic. The agency is targeting 9.7 million international arrivals by 2028, aiming to surpass pre-pandemic levels. Efforts to enhance infrastructure, improve connectivity, and diversify source markets are underway to achieve this goal.
Last year, total visitor arrival rose 9 percent to 5.95 million. The number, however, was still short of the 7.7 million target for 2024.
