A total of 6.48 million international visitors arrived in the Philippines in 2025, still below the country’s pre-pandemic tourism levels of about 8 million, Department of Tourism (DOT) Secretary Christina Garcia-Frasco said in an interview on the program Dos Por Dos.
Garcia-Frasco cited the latest data from the Bureau of Immigration (BI), which showed that the Philippines welcomed 6.48 million international visitors. Of this figure, around 5.9 million were foreign tourists, about 500,000 were foreign nationals under other travel categories, and more than 40,000 were overseas Filipinos.
The tourism chief noted that the figure is higher than what appears in the government’s e-travel data system, which currently reflects only about 5.85 million international arrivals. She explained that the discrepancy is due to certain travelers who are exempted from entering their information into the e-travel system.
“These include foreign dignitaries, diplomats and their families, as well as some cruise tourism passengers and those arriving on chartered flights,” Garcia-Frasco said.
She added that the DOT has been coordinating with the Bureau of Immigration and the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) to identify and address these data gaps.
According to the DOT, discrepancies between BI data and e-travel records have increased over the years, with around 200,000 in 2023, 486,000 in 2024, and about 618,000 in 2025.
Garcia-Frasco stressed the importance of using BI data, which is based on the physical stamping of passports, as it confirms the actual arrival of visitors in the country.
Despite the lower-than-expected numbers, Garcia-Frasco said the trend in international arrivals remains upward. She identified South Korea as the top source of foreign tourists, followed by the United States.
Other growing markets include Japan, Australia, Canada, and India, the latter benefiting from the government’s visa-free travel policy. She also cited recent developments allowing Chinese tourists to enter the Philippines visa-free for up to 14 days, which she said could help boost arrivals.
“The momentum is rising in terms of international travel to the Philippines,” the DOT chief said.
PH Tourism still below pre-pandemic levels
The tourism secretary acknowledged that the country has yet to fully recover to pre-pandemic levels, citing several challenges.
“Yung layunin po natin ay full recovery to our pandemic numbers. Kaya lang po, meron talagang mga challenges na hirap po tayo to overcome simply because of the realities on the ground.”
These include the prolonged suspension of e-visa processing for Chinese tourists over the past three years, as well as the impact of natural disasters such as earthquakes, super typhoons, and flooding, which prompted at least 34 travel alerts from different countries in 2025.
“Dahil po sa sunod-sunod na mga earthquakes, mga super typhoon, flooding, and other issues that have gained global attention dito sa Pilipinas, nagkaroon po tayo ng 34 travel alerts galing sa iba't ibang mga bansa.”
Garcia-Frasco said data monitoring shows that arrivals tend to decline following major incidents or the issuance of travel advisories, noting that the effects may be significant in some markets and can accumulate over time.
She added that the DOT continues to promote the Philippines aggressively despite having a promotional budget of only about ₱100 million last year, which she said is significantly lower than that of competing destinations.
“Tuloy-tuloy po yung trabaho natin sa pag-promote ng Pilipinas kahit po 100 million lang po budget natin last year for promotions which is far less than our competitors.”
The DOT expects that ongoing improvements in airport infrastructure, including the partial rollout of e-gates at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, will further streamline arrivals and ensure that all international visitors are properly recorded as tourism recovery continues.
