Provincial Tourism Office Head Rowena Montecillo reported on Friday, July 31, 2026, that Cebu recorded 183,533 international visitors from its top 18 overseas markets during the first half of 2026.
South Korea remained Cebu's top source of foreign visitors with 45,083 arrivals, followed by Japan with 19,540 and the United States with 18,408 travelers between January and June 2026.
Total visitor arrivals dropped by 10.71 percent to 836,595 due to a 12.29 percent decline in domestic travel, though final numbers are expected to rise once all LGUs submit data.
FOREIGN visitors are returning to Cebu Province in higher numbers from its top 18 international markets during the first half of 2026. This growth shows that international travel is recovering, even though overall visitor numbers dropped because fewer local tourists traveled.
Provincial Tourism Office (PTO) Head Rowena Montecillo shared on Friday, July 31, that foreign travel rose across the province’s main overseas markets between January and June. However, total numbers are still partial because some local government units (LGUs) have not turned in their tourism reports yet.
PTO records through July 28 show that 183,533 international tourists visited Cebu in the first six months of 2026. While this is a 4.61 percent drop compared to the 192,397 foreign travelers during the same period last year, the gap is shrinking quickly thanks to massive growth in key overseas markets.
South Korea remains Cebu's top source of foreign visitors, bringing in 45,083 tourists compared to 35,591 during the same period last year. Japan placed second with 19,540 visitors, up from 13,155, while the United States ranked third with 18,408 travelers, up from 12,872.
Other key markets showed huge gains:
China: More than doubled its visitor count to 13,080, up from 5,097.
Canada: Reached 5,209 visitors, rising from 1,876.
United Kingdom: Increased to 4,496 tourists, up from 1,458.
Malaysia: Jumped to 3,131 visitors, compared to 841 last year.
Despite the big rebound in foreign travel, total visitor arrivals dropped by 10.71 percent to 836,595, down from 936,939 last year. This overall decline happened mainly because domestic travel dropped 12.29 percent, falling to 653,016 visitors from 744,523.
On the other hand, visits from Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) surged by 142.11 percent, rising to 46 from 19 a year ago.
This second-quarter slowdown is a change from the first three months of the year. From January to March, a 10 percent jump in local travelers helped offset a small drop in international guests, driving total arrivals to 496,462. Popular local festivals, returning overseas workers, and major gatherings like the Asean Tourism Forum sparked that early domestic growth.
"We're not so worried about domestic because we always depend on the domestic tourists," Montecillo said. "They come during peak season."
Montecillo added that tourists are increasingly heading out to explore destinations in Cebu’s countryside rather than staying in urban cities.
Tourism officials find the steady rise in overseas visitors promising following past periods of decline.
"As early as January to June, you will see the increase already," Montecillo said. "At least, bisan naabot na ta sa half of the year, naka-positive na ta, which we hope will be sustained." (At least, even if we are just halfway through the year, we are already in the positive, which we hope will be sustained.)
She explained that while total numbers from distant countries like China and the United Kingdom are still relatively small, their growth rates are impressive.
"The percentage is big because there is a big jump of the number from the previous year," Montecillo noted. "We are studying the markets, especially for those na naa'y significant increase, because we would want to know how to prepare the products or the destination for them."
Montecillo emphasized that incomplete reports from local towns continue to affect the province’s overall traveler count, but the official numbers will go up once all LGUs submit their data.
"It's very important that we get the data from the different towns, from the LGUs," Montecillo explained. "The LGUs also would say that it is difficult for them to get the reports from the accommodation establishments, kay gikan man gud sa mga hotels ug sa resorts ang atong source ana nga number." (...because our source for those numbers comes directly from hotels and resorts.)
The Provincial Tourism Office expects Cebu's total visitor count to grow higher once every town finishes collecting and submitting its hotel and resort reports. CDF