Critics of Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco are only too happy to point out that foreign tourist arrivals in the Philippines dropped around 2.2 percent in 2025. That means the government fell short of its targets, and the numbers remain significantly lower than pre-pandemic levels.
Of course, they blamed her, which I think is most unfair. After all, there were many factors that contributed to the decline.
I just learned that the Department of Tourism’s (DOT) goal for this year is 6.7 million international arrivals — considerably lower than its 8.4 million target for 2025. Sometimes our government has this bad habit of “counting its chickens before they hatch.” It likes to trumpet projections and proposals as if they have already been realized. And I’m not just talking about the DOT.
Also, we should stop comparing ourselves to our more successful Asean neighbors like Thailand, Malaysia and, yes, Vietnam, which combined attracted more than 90 million foreign visitors last year.
According to recent data, Malaysia recorded between 38 and 42 million foreign visitor arrivals, followed by Thailand with approximately 32.9 million and Vietnam with around 21 million. The Philippines? We welcomed just 5.6 million foreign arrivals, including half a million who were classified as overseas Filipinos.
If we want to come close to what they have achieved, we must adopt policies and invest in infrastructure that would lure all those visitors to our shores. We need to focus on our shortcomings — if indeed they are shortcomings.
The last time I set foot in the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) was way back in 2018. And for good reason. It is frequently cited as “one of the most stressful airports in Asia.” We’ve heard horror stories of traveler experiences at Naia regarding infrastructure and service — particularly overcrowding, not to mention pest infestations and foul-smelling bathrooms. That’s why I make sure to travel out of the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA), which — and I’m not being biased — is the best airport in the country. But despite that, the departure lounge at the domestic terminal still gets really crowded, especially during peak season.
The government also has a lot of catching up to do when it comes to the rollout of digital nomad visas and e-visas for key markets. Earlier this month, it implemented a 14-day visa-free, non-extendable entry for Chinese and Indian nationals starting Jan. 16, 2026, valid for one year. Maybe the numbers will improve later this year. The Consul General of China in Cebu was very optimistic about the development. I have my fingers crossed.
There are many other things that the Philippines can improve or do differently to become a bona fide destination for foreign tourists.
First of all, there’s more to Filipino food than lechon (sorry, Cebu), adobo, or lechon kawali. It’s a downer for the health-conscious and it’s haram to our Muslim neighbors. We need to promote other dishes that don’t clog the arteries or send eaters to the emergency room.
And I hate to point it out, but among our Asean neighbors, only the Philippines and Timor-Leste are predominantly Christian. That isn’t exactly the most “Asian” of religions, but that alone should make us unique. Instead, it makes us stand out in the wrong way. Rather than celebrating what we have in common with our Asean brothers and sisters, we tend to focus on and take pride in our borrowed heritage. Tradition-wise we are closer to Latin America because of our shared colonial past, but deep down, we are Southeast Asian.
For me, it was a cringe-worthy moment to look at photos of the reenactment of the arrival of Christianity on our shores entertaining delegates of the Asean Tourism Forum that the Philippines is hosting in Cebu. What kind of image were we projecting? That we are celebrating the eradication and destruction of our pre-Hispanic past? Anyway, that’s for another column.
A lot is at stake for Cebu, whose economy heavily relies on tourism. It has suffered several setbacks in the past few months. The earthquake in September and the flash floods in November have scared potential visitors, resulting in many cancellations.
The bottom line is that the Philippine economy stands to gain significantly if the country can get its act together. Suffice it to say, it has set the ball rolling. We will just have to wait and see.
Last year, the country generated an estimated US$12billion in foreign visitor spending. Malaysia earned roughly US$32 billion in international tourism receipts. Thailand earned between US$43.6 billion and US$45 billion, even though it had fewer arrivals than Malaysia. It was the same with Vietnam, which generated US$38 billion in total revenue.
However, there is a silver lining here if you look closer at the math. Visitors to the Philippines are spending roughly US$2,100 pe rperson, compared to just US$800 per visitor in Malaysia and around US$1,300 in Thailand. We may be getting fewer bodies, but we are capturing higher-value tourists. If we can earn billions without drowning our islands in foot traffic, maybe we don’t need to blindly copy our neighbors’ mass-market strategy.
But the big question remains: do we really want that many foreign visitors coming?