TOURIST arrivals from South Korea to Cebu have dropped by 18 percent in 2025 compared to the same period last year, raising concerns among provincial officials as the Korean market remains Cebu’s top foreign tourism source.
Cebu Provincial Administrator Ace Durano, who served as the country’s Tourism Secretary from 2004 to 2010 under President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, described the decline as a “drastic drop” and stressed the need for an urgent, sector-wide response.
“This needs to be addressed immediately because during my time in DOT (Department of Tourism), I’ve never seen anything like that — this kind of drastic drop,” said Durano in a mix of Cebuano and English.
Durano noted that while international arrivals to the Philippines have generally declined, Cebu’s situation is especially concerning due to its heavy reliance on Korean tourists.
Priorities
He said the Provincial Government is now prioritizing efforts to retain and regain the Korean tourism market.
“We are focusing on Korea because they’re our number one market,” he said, noting that different markets require customized strategies to address declining arrivals.
Durano said market intelligence from local tourism stakeholders points to Vietnam as Cebu’s strongest regional competitor.
He said Vietnam has been “aggressive” in its tourism promotions, package offerings, and pricing strategies, with four-to-five-day packages from Korea costing half as much as similar Cebu packages.
“Part of their aggressiveness as their pricing,” he said.
While, airfare and accommodations are considered part of the reason for the decline in tourist arrivals, Durano said they are looking into other aspects especially other charges.
“Aside from airline and hotel costs, we must also look at the added fees in our attractions and destinations,” Durano said.
He added that changes in the travel behavior of Korean tourists are also a factor.
For instance, many Korean travelers now rely on digital payment systems that are not yet widely accepted in Cebu.
To address these issues, Durano stressed the need for coordinated action within the tourism sector.
He said the upcoming first organizational meeting of the Cebu Provincial Tourism Council on July 30 will be crucial in crafting a unified strategy.
Part of the provincial government’s approach includes the reprogramming of tourism-related funds initially allocated for festivals and promotional events such as Pasigarbo sa Sugbo and Suroy-Suroy Sugbo.
These will be redirected to support four key areas: Cultural tourism activities, frontliner training, facility improvements, and promotions and marketing.
Durano clarified that although Pasigarbo sa Sugbo does not have a supporting ordinance like Suroy-Suroy, both programs have allocated budgets for tourism, making the reprogramming allowable under executive discretion.
“It will be spent for the four pillars of tourism development,” he said. / CDF