TOURISM stakeholders are ‘cautiously optimistic’ about the Philippines’s visitor arrivals this year, and suggest that government strengthen its marketing tack overseas to sustain the country’s current inbound growth.
In a Viber message, Tourism Congress of the Philippines (TCP) president James Montenegro told the BusinessMirror, ‘The latest figures are encouraging and provide reason for cautious optimism that the Philippines can surpass last year’s international visitor arrivals if the current momentum continues. However, sustaining that growth will require a deliberate strategy to expand demand beyond our traditional source markets.’
In the first half of 2026, the Philippines welcomed 3.16 million tourists from abroad, up 5.4 percent, year on year (yoy). While the United States and South Korea provided the bulk of arrivals, a surge in tourists from China and India, now with visa-free entry privileges, also helped lift the headcountThe same was echoed by the Philippines Hotel Owners Association’s executive director Benito C. Bengzon Jr. ‘We maintain a cautiously optimistic outlook regarding the Philippines’s tourism performance and our ability to surpass last year’s inbound arrival numbers-even as the Department of Tourism (DOT) recalibrates its targets. While geopolitical developments such as Middle East tensions remain a major concern, they have not noticeably affected current arrival figures,’ he said.
‘Still far from recovery’
He added, ‘We believe it is difficult to speak of a full recovery until our inbound tourist arrivals return to prepandemic 2019 baseline levels, when foreign arrivals reached over 8.2 million. Reaching or slightly exceeding recent interim figures is a step in the right direction, but full recovery requires rebuilding sustainable volume across all key international source markets.’
He underscored the importance of regular dialogue between government and the private sector ‘so agreements on strategic directors are reached.’
The Philippines welcomed 5.9 million foreign tourists last year, unchanged from the arrivals in 2024, based on data collected by the DOT via government’s e-travel forms. Under its budget allocation this year, the agency is committed to attract 6.7 million inbound tourists.
For Montenegro, increased promotions in the United States, Canada, and Australia will expand awareness of the Philippines. ‘These are high-value markets that are less dependent on Middle Eastern airline connectivity and have consistently shown strong potential for the Philippines. [Also,] a stronger, coordinated marketing campaign should position Boracay, Cebu, and Palawan as premier resort destinations that can compete with the best in the [Asian] region.’
Other tourism leaders have also suggested marketing Philippine destinations further in other long-haul markets such as the United Kingdom, Europe, and Scandinavian countries, which have alternative routes to Asia instead of going through the Middle East, although the latter’s airspace troubles appear to have eased.
Challenging air connectivity
Despite the sharp increases in arrivals from China and India, the TCP official said the liberalization of visa policies will not deliver the sustained growth in foreign visitors. ‘Air connectivity remains the single biggest structural constraint to Philippine tourism. We continue to lose market share to neighboring destinations because they have invested aggressively in international gateways and direct air services. Bali, for example, now attracts more international visitors than the entire Philippines-clear evidence of what is possible when connectivity, infrastructure, and destination marketing are aligned.’ Montenegro suggested that a national strategy be adopted to attract more international airlines and encourage existing carriers to expand their services. ‘This should include route development incentives, marketing partnerships, and support for airlines launching direct services to our major tourism gateways such as Cebu, Boracay [via Caticlan or Kalibo], and Palawan.’
He also expressed optimism that arrivals from Taiwan will likely reach ‘300,000’ this year, judging from the current momentum in growth. From January to June this year, tourist from Taiwan grew by 11.85 percent yoy to 111,134.
With Taiwan’s recent decision to extend the visa-free privilege for Filipinos until July 2027, the Philippines has also reciprocated by extending the same policy to Taiwanese visitors until June 30, 2027.