The Philippines must fix long-standing structural weaknesses in its tourism industry now or risk falling even further behind its Southeast Asian neighbors and missing its 2028 growth targets.
That is the key finding of a new study by Philippine Institute for Development Studies senior research fellow John Paolo Rivera, who said the country’s tourism challenge is no longer about attracting visitors but building a system that keeps them coming and spending more.
“We will continue to underperform relative to our ASEAN peers,” Rivera warned, noting that the industry’s recovery has yet to translate into stronger competitiveness.
The study found that domestic tourism has powered much of the sector’s rebound, masking persistent weaknesses in international arrivals, visitor spending, average length of stay and tourism investments.
“The issue here is not necessarily demand. The issue here is systems,” Rivera said.
With the National Tourism Development Plan targeting stronger growth by 2028, Rivera said 2026 will be a crucial year for reforms. He urged the government to improve air connectivity, reduce travel costs, modernize the Tourism Act of 2009 and strengthen coordination among national agencies and local governments.
Rivera said tourism cannot be left to the Department of Tourism alone because fragmented governance continues to delay projects and weaken policy execution.
He also called for faster airport expansion, better inter-island transport, simpler investment procedures and wider adoption of successful tourism programs already working in some regions.
“We have pockets of success, but there are no systems to scale them up,” he said.
The study noted that several ASEAN neighbors have improved their tourism performance through coordinated policies, stronger infrastructure and sustained investments.
Rivera said the Philippines still has time to catch up, but only if reforms begin immediately.
“The window for action is now,” he said. “Otherwise, we will not be able to get to our desired state by 2028.”
