Tourism department seeks broader foreign tourist markets

THE DEPARTMENT of Tourism (DoT) said that it is seeking to broaden the country’s visitor base, reducing reliance on its key Asian markets and strengthening foreign tourism arrivals.

“We have sought to diversify our markets veering away from a dependency on particular markets alone,” Tourism Secretary Esperanza Christina G. Frasco told a Senate hearing on Tuesday.

She added that the government has opened the country to more Indian tourist, through visa-free entries and direct flights from Delhi to Manila.

“The President has shifted the policy from requiring visas to having visa-free travel from India to the Philippines in conjunction with flight from Delhi to Manila, we have immediately seen a 21% growth from the Indian market,” Ms. Frasco said.

The Tourism department is also working with the Korean embassy, communities and tourism attachés to improve efforts on promotions for the South Korean markets.

“We recognize the challenges in the South Korean market, the decline in their outbound travel is not limited to the Philippines but is seen all over the Southeast Asian Region,” Ms. Frasco said in response to Senator Rafael T. Tulfo who questioned the reported decline in tourist arrivals from South Korea and China.

“Challenges from recovering the Chinese market has been devastating as far as tourism is concerned in the Philippines,” she said.

She added that the agency has continued to advocate for liberalized visa policies to improve foreign visitor arrivals in the country, adding that the visa-free policy for Chinese nationals would bolster the Chinese market.

The Department of Foreign Affairs announced last month, that Chinese nationals visiting the Philippines for tourism or business can enter the country visa-free for 14 days.

“We do not anticipate an immediate surge in Chinese arrivals, but we do anticipate that since demand from China, according to our Beijing and Shanghai offices, has never waned, that there will be a gradual increase especially in the forthcoming Chinese New Year Celebration,” the Tourism chief said.

Visitor arrivals from South Korea declined by 21% to 1.134 million during the first 11 months of 2025, while Chinese tourist arrivals dropped by 16.55% to 248,339, data from the Tourism department showed.

South Korea made up the bulk of tourist arrivals accounting for 21.66% of the total. — Adrian H. Halili