The Department of Tourism (DOT) is sharpening its global promotions strategy, refocusing its tourism push toward emerging and high-value markets as it tempers expectations amid budget limitations, infrastructure gaps, and air connectivity constraints.
Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco said the agency is adopting a more conservative outlook for 2026 arrivals, despite the sector’s resilience in 2025. The Philippines recorded 5.86 million foreign visitor arrivals last year based on eTravel data—or 5.94 million including cruise and other visitors counted by immigration authorities. With 543,085 returning overseas Filipinos, total arrivals reached 6.48 million.
“What you can expect for 2026 is an intensified global promotions campaign for specific source markets that we were not able to do to the extent that we wanted in 2025 because we only had P100 million,” Frasco told reporters on Tuesday, January 20, citing persistent challenges in infrastructure and connectivity.
Among the DOT’s immediate priorities is reviving the South Korean market, which has seen a regional slowdown in outbound travel. The agency also plans to maximize the consistently strong United States market and tap the fast-growing Canadian segment, supported by new connectivity via Air Canada.
India is emerging as a key growth driver, posting a 21 percent increase in arrivals in 2025 from 2024. The DOT is pushing for multi-city air links and rolling out targeted campaigns, including joint promotions, familiarization tours, and business-to-business meetings between Indian and Filipino stakeholders.
Regionally, the Philippines’ ASEAN chairship is seen as a platform to lift historically modest intra-ASEAN travel through stronger promotional visibility.
China remains a work in progress. Flight capacity has recovered to less than 50 percent of pre-pandemic levels, but Frasco said the recent expansion of visa-free entry for Chinese nationals to 14 days could help accelerate the rebound. Before the pandemic, China accounted for over one million visitors annually.
The DOT is also eyeing growth from the Middle East—particularly the UAE and Qatar—and is pushing for more flights and higher frequencies from the US and key European markets, while urging Philippine Airlines to restore UK services and mount direct routes to Spain or Italy.
