In September 2025, the Philippines’ Department of Tourism boldly forecast earnings of over US$45 billion by the end of the year, along with the ambitious target of 8.4 million foreign arrivals.
However, as the smoke cleared after the festivities of New Year’s Eve, official reports pointed out that the country failed to meet both targets: clocking in just 5.6 million arrivals as of 31st December.
That’s a shortfall of up to 33 percent from the target projected early in 2025 and with that comes a significant shortfall in terms of tourism earnings.
Now: how is it that a country whose tourism campaigns have long numbered among the most visible in the world continues to struggle to draw in visitors from overseas?
For a Filipino like myself who happens to travel abroad for work, it isn’t so much a question of visibility but more a matter involving unrealistic expectations.
Are the targets attainable?
One of the things I have noticed throughout my coverage of the regional tourism scene is that other nations tend to be more conservative when it comes to setting arrivals targets and revenue goals.
In the case of our regional neighbours Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, they tend to underpromise, then deliver results in spades.
The Philippines, however, tends to set lofty goals and ends the year with a shortfall that has caused its Presidents to call people on the carpet; alas, several regimes have passed and no one has yet to give an answer to properly explain why the tourism sector never seems to hit its targets.
But, as an intrepid traveller myself, I have only this to ask: Maybe we’re looking at the wrong end of the equation?
After all, we have not skimped on marketing and advertising, but we’ve obviously cut corners where the important things are concerned; namely infrastructure, human resources, and accessibility.
Indeed, I need to quote veteran Filipino journalist / columnist Boo Chanco verbatim at this point: “The DOT folks obviously don’t know what they are doing. Before making bold targets, any professional marketing person would make sure it is attainable and that they will not embarrass their principal if they fail.”
If you build it, they will come
I speak as a former advertising professional when I say you need to have something in place before you sell anything.
Even for real estate pre-selling, they usually have an initial structure or an existing property to serve as proof of concept to draw in potential buyers.
In terms of tourism promotion, selling the destination involves actually having something or someplace to sell: a properly maintained attraction, for instance; a historic province whose attractions are curated by experts, perhaps.
While Philippine destinations do have the standard run of attractions and accommodations, foreign travellers have remarked that some are not well-maintained, often on the verge of complete ruin or badly in need of care and repair.
At the same time, given the ongoing fiasco involving the Department of Public Works and Highways, transportation infrastructure throughout the country is in a very poor state.
Given how the Philippines is an archipelago, you would think that inter-island travel would have been made more convenient by now; unfortunately, the structural integrity of key bridges is currently under scrutiny, and domestic travel options over water tend to put travellers off due to safety reasons, as well as scarce availability and the lack of speed.
That essentially gives one key answer as to why travellers aren’t keen on coming to the Philippines: it’s hard to get around due to the transportation issue, good and even modest accommodations are challenging to find, and attractions tend to lose their glow once a traveller sees them in person.
Banking on the wrong markets, perhaps?
Historically, China has been the Philippines’ largest market in terms of foreign arrivals to the country.
Prior to the pandemic, Chinese travellers would come to the country for both business and pleasure, resulting in billions in revenues per annum.
Since the country reopened in 2022, however, the number of Chinese arrivals in the country has been slow to return to pre-2020 levels.
The number of Chinese nationals who came to the Philippines in 2019 totalled around 1.74 million; as of end-2025, the number has dwindled to but 262,144 travellers.
It is interesting to note that, as of 31st December 2025, China ranked sixth among the top ten nations contributing to tourist arrivals in the Philippines, standing well behind South Korea, the United States, Japan, Australia, and Canada.
The Philippines has been actively courting the Chinese market through roadshows and the participation of the DOT in key events like ITB China, but perhaps the country needs to look elsewhere for guests, and the recent spike in arrivals from South Korea and Australia needs to be studied carefully.
(It should be noted at this point that, while the number of travellers coming in from North America are significant, the bulk of the numbers are from Filipino-Americans or naturalised American or Canadian citizens visiting their home country.)
Throw in the ongoing diplomatic / political tensions between the Philippines and China, and the course of prudence will certainly involve looking to other markets.
Points to ponder
Admittedly, we cannot solve the issue of dwindling tourist arrivals overnight; but those in authority need to consider the following points if things are to change:
- Take a closer look at what exactly we need for better tourism Rather than the piecemeal approach to solving problems, it would be best to sit down, take stock of what the country currently has, make note of what it lacks, and plan from there. Seeing the big picture is essentially like looking at a jigsaw puzzle: you see the missing pieces immediately, then find ways by which to fill those voids with the right facilities, equipment, and even people;
- Expand their horizons in terms of source markets I’ll be blunt: China is not the be-all and end-all of source markets despite their massive population. Doing roadshows in other countries piques the interest of both regional and global neighbours, and offering a showcase that highlights the best that the Philippines has to offer (as well as what can’t be found elsewhere) makes for a strong come-on to potential visitors;
- Infrastructure is the key to long-term success By infrastructure, we aren’t exactly talking about new attractions or even big-name hotels. It is, perhaps, time to go back to the basics: build better and safer roads; ensure the reliability of bridges between provinces; properly implement rules and regulations for land, sea, and air travel; and also make it a point to properly operate all points of entry or exit into the country. I’ve often said that an airport (or even a seaport) gives travellers their first and last impressions of a country and its people. A properly running facility ensures that their initial and final impressions are good ones that will make them look forward to coming back; an
- Bank on your people and they can make bank Good infrastructure is nothing without good people. One of the primary complaints that foreign travellers have against the Philippines is the perceived ineptitude of officials and staff at major entry points. Language skills need to be improved, along with relevant skills for interpersonal communication, as well as basic courtesy. The Philippines has long been known for its hospitality, but this has been tarnished over time; perhaps it is time for local tourism and hospitality professionals to brush up on their skills and help the country come out shining.
