Philippine tourism department to boost promotions in Japan, South Korea, and US

The Philippines’ Department of Tourism (DOT) is focusing its efforts to draw in more tourists from South Korea, the United States, and Japan in a bid to hit its 7.7 million arrival target by the end of the year.

In an interview on the sidelines of the Philippine Hotel Industry Strategic Action Plan (PHISAP) on Wednesday, 16th October,  tourism secretary Christina Frasco admitted that external factors and limitations in visa policies are affecting the country’s projected numbers for 2024.

Frasco said: “We do have challenges in terms of chasing after the projected number, especially in light of external factors that include geopolitical stresses upon these arrivals, over which we have little control now.”

The secretary pointed out that another factor is the limitations the Philippine government has imposed on visa policies in comparison to those of its ASEAN neighbours.

She added: “[That] is why we continue to advocate for a liberalised visa system to be instituted by the Department of Foreign Affairs in partnership with a Bureau of Immigration.”

Current figures

Based on the latest DOT data, the Philippines has so far reached 4.43 million in international visitor arrivals as of September 2024, with South Korea as the top market contributing more than one million.

With a more stringent visa policy toward China, Frasco said the country cannot expect an influx of Chinese travellers returning anytime soon.

The secretary said: “The simple reality is that the issuance of visas to the Chinese market has been publicly declared to be more stringent. So with a more stringent visa policy towards Chinese travelers, I don’t think we can expect a flourishing market from that jurisdiction.”

Prior to the onslaught of the pandemic in 2020, the Chinese market ranked as the Philippines’ second largest source market, bringing in 1.35 million visitors from January to September 2019.

In the same period this year, the number of Chinese visitors to the Philippines plunged to 260,134.

Frasco said: “That is why the DOT, respectful of these realities on the ground, is actively pursuing number one our top source, markets including South Korea, the US, Japan, as well as markets for which we have massive opportunity, including India.”

Meanwhile, she said comparison of tourism arrivals must be put side by side with the country’s visitor receipts, which has already reached over 100 percent recovery from 2019.

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