THE Philippine tourism sector presented a mixed performance in the first quarter of 2025, with a slight decline in overall visitor arrivals but robust outbound travel by Filipino residents, according to data from the Department of Tourism.
Total visitor arrivals to the Philippines from January to April 2025 reached 2,104,572, marking a marginal 0.82 percent decrease compared to the 2,121,944 arrivals recorded in the same period of 2024. Foreign tourists accounted for 1,933,757.
Top inbound markets
South Korea remained the leading source of foreign tourists, despite an 18.03 percent decline, bringing in 468,337 visitors.
The United States of America followed with 360,799 arrivals, showing a healthy 8.99 percent growth.
Japan secured the third spot with 156,532 visitors, an 18.14 percent increase.
Other significant inbound markets included Australia (111,113 arrivals, up 19.44 percent) and Canada (99,152 arrivals, up 16.42 percent).
Notably, China saw a significant decline of 34.36 percent in arrivals or 92,659. Arrivals from Taiwan also declined by 10.94 percent to 69,593.
The country also welcomed tourists from the United Kingdom, whose arrivals went up by 7.79 percent or 65,923 followed by Singapore with 50,009 arrivals (up by 1.07 percent) and Germany with 37,088 arrivals, up by 2.55 percent.
Outbound travel by Filipinos
Conversely, outbound travel by Philippine residents showed strong activity.
From January to April 2025, a total of 2,395,295 Filipinos traveled abroad.
Hong Kong - SAR was the most popular destination for Philippine residents, with 316,239 travelers, accounting for 13.20 percent of total outbound volume. Japan followed closely with 290,698 travelers (12.14 percent) and Singapore ranked third with 233,856 travelers (9.76 percent).
Other top destinations included Taiwan (184,690 travelers), United Arab Emirates (154,317 travelers), and Thailand (150,183 travelers). Also included in the list were countries like Saudi Arabia, the US, Vietnam and South Korea. / KOC