THE Philippines risks falling further behind its Southeast Asian peers in tourist arrivals unless the government acts to bring down steep domestic airfares, Sen. Erwin Tulfo warned as lawmakers tackled the 2026 tourism budget.
Tulfo urged the Department of Tourism (DOT) to step up efforts to lower ticket prices for local flights, saying travellers increasingly find it cheaper to fly abroad.
“Our people would rather go to Hong Kong or Taiwan because a one-way ticket to Batanes or Tawi-Tawi is more expensive than a round-trip ticket to Hong Kong,” he said during plenary debates.
Key deterrent
Sen. Loren Legarda said the DOT is working with the Department of Transportation, Civil Aeronautics Board, Department of Trade and Industry and the Philippine Competition Commission to ease airfare pressures.
“High airfares are the key deterrent to travel,” she said, adding that consultations are underway for a code of conduct for online travel agencies to ensure transparent and fair pricing under the Internet Transactions Act.
Tulfo flagged the Philippines’ weak regional performance, citing January–August 2025 data from seasia.stats showing the country logged 3.96 million international arrivals, far behind Malaysia (28.24 million), Thailand (21.88 million), Vietnam (12.9 million), Singapore (11.6 million) and Indonesia (10.04 million).
He said the high cost of domestic travel continues to stifle local tourism despite world-class destinations in Basilan, Jolo, Tawi-Tawi and Batanes.
Tulfo also pushed for more direct flights to provincial destinations and stronger promotion of underrated areas such as Marinduque. / KOC