The Philippine Department of Tourism (DOT) plans to expand its promotions budget for several key and emerging markets in 2026, including the United States, South Korea, Canada, China, India and the Middle East.
Tourism secretary Christina Frasco said the DOT intends to fully recover the South Korean market, which slipped to 1.34 million last year from 1.45 million in 2024.
She added that the DOT will also capitalise on the US as one of the country’s most reliable markets to pull the arrival numbers for 2026.
With regard to Canada, the DOT is optimistic that the new connections through Air Canada would bring in more Canadian tourists into the country.
2025 in a nutshell
The Philippines recorded 6.4 million foreign visitors and returning overseas Filipinos in 2025, generating an estimated PHP694 billion in tourism receipts.
Of this number, South Korea remains the top market, followed by the US with 1.32 million visitors, Japan with 469,521, Australia with 359,646, and Canada with 333,136.
China ranked sixth with 237,101 while India ranked 11th with 104,994 visitors from January to December 2025.
Into the east
Looking ahead, the DOT will also ramp up promotional activity in China as the Philippines eases its visa policy for Chinese nationals, allowing them visa-entry of up to 14 days in the country.
Frasco remarked: “China has been challenging, to say the least. So, for China specifically, we’re working with our Beijing and Shanghai offices plus the private sector. We will have a very specific targeted campaign in certain cities even as we work with the airlines to recover the pre-pandemic flights.”
It was noted that inbound flights to the Philippines from China are only up to 50 percent of their pre-pandemic totals, so the new visa policy stands to be of good help.
Likewise, the Philippines sees promising growth from the Middle East, particularly from the United Arab Emirates market whose leisure travelers coming into the country have increased significantly over the past year.
UAE flag carrier Emirates is also requesting increased slots from the UAE to Manila as well as the retention or expansion of their Cebu and Clark flights.
