DOT charts a new Course for Philippine tourism growth

This World Tourism Day, Secretary Dita Angara-Mathay underscores a new direction for tourism — from counting visitor arrivals to building long-term, sustainable, and tangible investments.

For decades, Philippine tourism has been measured by one familiar number: tourist arrivals. But in time for this year’s National Tourism Month celebration, the Department of Tourism (DOT) is making the case that the industry is more than a headcount.

Just five months into the role of tourism chief, Secretary Dita Angara-Mathay is repositioning the DOT toward an investment-driven and people-centric approach aimed at generating greater tourism revenues, attracting investments, creating livelihoods, and supporting sustained and inclusive development. After all, tourism contributed 8.1% to the Philippine economy in 2025, generating PhP 2.27 trillion in Tourism Direct Gross Value Added and supporting 7.70 million jobs nationwide, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.

“We want to be defined as an agency that’s proactively taking the lead in tourism readiness. This means strengthening our airports and gateways, improving our physical tourism infrastructure, and expanding air connectivity, so our visitors can move seamlessly across the country. As we prepare for the hosting of the upcoming 49th ASEAN Leaders’ Summit, we would like to use this event as an opportunity to demonstrate that the Philippines is open, accessible, and ready for greater tourism and investment, and we are committed to building the infrastructure and connectivity needed to sustain that growth,” the tourism chief said.

Improving physical and air linkages

With her taking the lead, DOT is working with stakeholders from the public and private sectors, including the Department of Transportation (DOTr), to improve airport gateways, add more flights, and develop new air and sea routes across key, strategic, and opportunity markets, including secondary cities and emerging source markets that have long been overlooked.

From January 1 to May 19, 2026, the Philippines recorded 7,779,012 international air seats for direct inbound flights, an 8.31% increase over the same period in 2025. Among the emerging markets driving this growth is China, which, according to eTravel data, registered 310,000 Chinese arrivals, a 69.15% increase compared with the same period last year. Likewise, new and resumed routes now link Manila and Cebu with San Francisco, Seattle, Vancouver, and Paris, while expanded services within Asia connect the Philippines with Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Singapore, and Thailand through Cebu, Clark, Iloilo, Bohol, Kalibo, Caticlan, and Davao.

The DOT also secured an air service agreement with Türkiye, expanding Manila-Istanbul flights from seven to 14 weekly, with unlimited frequency rights for secondary gateways such as Cebu, Clark, and Davao, strengthening the country’s link to Europe, the Middle East, and other markets through Istanbul’s role as a major aviation hub.

Capturing priority and emerging markets

The DOT is also working closely with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on visa reforms to further encourage tourists to visit and extend their stay in the Philippines. The DOT, for instance, is pushing to extend visa-free privileges for Chinese travelers to additional ports of entry, namely Kalibo, Caticlan, Tagbilaran, Clark, Puerto Princesa, and Davao. Visitors from Taiwan already enjoy a 14-day visa-free entry policy, reciprocating Taiwan’s own policy toward Filipino travelers. China and Taiwan currently rank 4th and 7th, respectively, among the Philippines’ source markets for tourist arrivals.

The agency is also strengthening bilateral tourism cooperation agreements with partner countries across Asia, Europe, and the Americas, particularly with Viet Nam, signed in Manila on 1 June 2026; Colombia, signed in Bogotá on 18 June 2026; Canada, signed in Vancouver on 2 July 2026; Brazil, signed in Brasília on 11 August 2026; and Chile, signed in Santiago on 13 August 2026.

These agreements, pursued together with the DFA, widen the Philippines’ network of tourism partnerships, and open new source markets and new opportunities for the communities that depend on them.

Towards an investment-driven tourism industry

A veteran trade diplomat prior to assuming the tourism portfolio, Secretary Angara-Mathay says she is committed to bringing in more tourism investment opportunities for the Philippines, pivoting to business development initiatives which include the Tourism Investment Accountability Program, which maximizes tourism investment value; the Tourism Investment Readiness Program, which turns tourism projects into investment-ready, implementable ventures; the Tourism Intelligence Program, which strengthens tourism development; and the Strategic Investment Engagement Program, which builds partnerships.

Among the important collaborations of the DOT this year are with Uniqlo, a major Japanese multinational public holding company, and Nitori, Japan’s largest furniture and home furnishing retail chain. These collaborations form part of a broader strategy with Japan, the first market where the DOT is testing a more hands-on approach to investment development. 

Building on a Tokyo business roundtable held this May during President Marcos’ State Visit, the Department formed a Japan Tourism Investment and Business Development Team, which has since engaged companies such as Marubeni on a specialty medical clinic and Sojitz on expanding telecom infrastructure in underserved tourist destinations. The Department intends to replicate this model in other priority markets, so the same kind of growth can be shared to tourism stakeholders who need it the most.

Pushing for a bigger marketing budget

With the country’s wealth of natural resources and vibrant culture and heritage, Secretary Angara-Mathay believes the Philippines can achieve greater heights with a bigger tourism marketing budget. The Philippines currently has one of the lowest tourism marketing budgets in ASEAN, despite attracting relatively high-value tourists who stay an average of five days and spend around USD2,000 (or approximately PHP125,000, based on current exchange rates).

Under her leadership, the DOT rolled out Discover More To Love, a domestic sub-campaign under the Love the Philippines national tourism brand that stimulates domestic travel through discounted airfares, hotel rates, and attraction fees, while strengthening demand across the tourism value chain amid elevated international fuel costs. Running through the lean season of July to November 2026, the campaign generated PHP 1.79 million in hotel revenue, more than 800 overnight room bookings, and 203,000 seats sold for local flights in its first 100 days.

As part of this drive to keep the Philippines visible and top-of-mind, the DOT has also tapped homegrown Filipino talent to widen its reach, naming P-Pop groups BINI and SB19 as its newest Tourism Ambassadors and launching dedicated microsites featuring their dream destinations. This is paired with discounted travel packages and interactive fan features such as BINI’s #BloomTrails and SB19’s dedication messages. Teasers for the announcement alone gathered 120,000 views and around 10,000 reactions on Facebook within 24 hours, reflecting the reach the two groups bring as they carry the Filipino flag on the global stage.

“Marketing and branding are not expenses that we can afford to treat as secondary. They are investments in the competitiveness of Philippine tourism. If we want to compete with our regional neighbors, we must be willing to invest at a level that matches the ambition we have for our tourism industry. To put it simply, we have to put our money where our mouth is,” Angara-Mathay said.

“The Philippines has world-class destinations, but destinations do not sell themselves. We need sustained, strategic, and well-funded marketing that keeps the Philippines visible, relevant, and top-of-mind in the global tourism market. We have the destinations, the people, and the stories; now we must give them the global platform and investment they deserve,” the tourism chief emphasized.

Looking to 2027, the Department aims to sustain this momentum on two fronts: continuing to tap Filipino talent and use them as stimulus to generate economic activity around the tourism value chain of local destinations, and directing the marketing budget toward the source markets that need it most, particularly emerging and established ones.

About 70% of the DOT’s marketing budget will go to digital marketing and media placements. A larger share is being set aside for Japan and South Korea, where the Department sees room to reinvigorate arrivals. The United States, Canada, Australia, and the ASEAN region will also receive bigger allocations to sustain their year-on-year growth, alongside efforts to build stronger air links with China which has been exhibiting close to 70% year-on-year growth. For South Korea, the Philippines’ largest source market in 2025, the Department particularly intends to sustain the PHP 50 million-effort it launched this year for localized marketing campaigns and co-branding activities with South Korean tour operators, airlines, and social media platforms.

The DOT will also continue leveraging the ambassadorship of BINI and SB19, with bigger, more strategic activations planned for 2027. These will target the strong fan bases the two groups command across Asia, North America, and the Filipino diaspora worldwide, as well as making inroads in promoting other regional destinations to domestic travelers. Alongside these efforts, it is investing in micro-influencers and globally recognized Filipino athletes and performers to reach niche and international audiences not typically covered by traditional tourism marketing.

Strengthening MSMEs and tourism frontliners

The Department is also strengthening its support for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) through renewed partnerships with leading financial technology and digital platforms, including Klook, GCash, Viber, Mastercard, and Visa. For the Secretary, these collaborations address three common barriers that prevent many small tourism enterprises from fully participating in the digital economy: limited market visibility, difficulty accepting cashless payments, and gaps in financial and digital literacy. These partnerships reflect the Department’s broader policy direction toward building a more inclusive and digitally empowered tourism ecosystem, one where MSMEs are active, digitally equipped contributors in tourism growth, not merely passive beneficiaries.

With Angara-Mathay at the helm, the DOT is raising service standards by encouraging travelers and industry partners to choose accredited tourism establishments and trained frontliners, with a new directive from the Secretary set to be released in the fourth quarter of 2026. To note, tourism accreditations nationwide grew from 11,989 in 2022 to 15,007 in 2025, an increase of over 25%, with the Philippines’ tally of ASEAN tourism standard awards more than doubling in the same period, from 13 in 2022 to 27 in 2026.

Now, under Secretary Angara-Mathay, accreditation rules for several sectors that have been in place for more than five years are being updated, while new standards are being developed for emerging tourism businesses such as campgrounds and domestic cruise ships. Also in the pipeline is a plan to introduce digital tools for tour guide qualification exams, making the process more efficient and accessible.

At the same time, DOT training programs are being aligned with the Philippine Qualifications Framework, with new courses responding to emerging industry needs such as digital skills and crisis response, and additional training conducted to widen access for accredited participants, out-of-school youth, OFWs, and other sectors. 

From 2022, the Department’s Trabaho, Turismo, Asenso! job fairs alone have connected over 3,300 employers offering more than 260,000 vacancies to jobseekers nationwide, contributing to a tourism workforce that reached 7.70 million persons in 2025, up 2.5% from 7.51 million in 2024 and now accounting for 15.7% of the country’s total employment, according to the latest Tourism Satellite Account. The Department is also expanding its pool of trainers through Teach-It-Forward, which taps returning OFWs with strong experience abroad as resource speakers and assessors.

Likewise, the flagship Filipino Brand of Service Excellence program will be further integrated into technical skills courses, and the Department will continue pursuing international recognition for Filipino tourism workers through the ASEAN Mutual Recognition Arrangement on Tourism Professionals.

Showcasing the Philippines’ best at the ASEAN Summit

Secretary Angara-Mathay now also serves as Vice Chair for Operations of the 49th ASEAN Summit, giving the DOT a direct role in the whole-of-government effort to host the Heads of State and Government, ministers, and other delegates from ASEAN and G7 nations converging on Manila this November. Through this role, the Department leads the Culture, Tourism, Hospitality, Tourism Sites, Events, Signages, and Entertainment (CTHTSESE) Committee of the National Organizing Committee, which is responsible for the welcome, hospitality, and cultural presentation aspects of the Summit.

Under this mandate, the DOT and its attached agencies, particularly the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA), are preparing the airports, venues, and roadways that will host the Summit and its related meetings, ensuring these sites are ready to receive visiting leaders and delegates.

The Department is also working to keep the Filipino public informed and engaged in the lead-up to the Summit, while drawing on the country’s cultural and creative talent, including performers and artisans, to help showcase Philippine culture to the region’s leaders and the international delegations they bring with them.

Keeping tourism data-driven, safe, and disaster-ready

Responding to industry calls for greater access to tourism data, the DOT has reinstitutionalized public access to visitor arrivals and other tourism data, this time through an interactive dashboard showing industry performance and comparative trend analysis, a tourism data dictionary and metadata, and an inter-agency data-sharing and harmonization program. This, together with other features of the revitalized tourism portal, tourism.gov.ph, will soon be integrated to the EGov app which services about 40 to 60 million users. 

The Department has also strengthened its disaster preparedness framework to ensure the tourism industry, and the communities it supports, can withstand natural calamities and recover quickly, aligning its strategies with national disaster risk reduction policies. This is anchored on the approved DOT Manual on Tourist Safety and Disaster Response Protocols, which has since been cascaded to all regional offices for a consistent, ground-level response. Its growing ties have also translated into direct disaster support, such as Nitori’s PHP 30 million contribution toward temporary shelter pods for earthquake-affected families in Mindanao.

By the fourth quarter of 2026, the Department aims to further strengthen police presence in key tourism destinations to help ensure safety and security of tourists and citizens alike. The Department has strengthened its coordination with the Philippine National Police (PNP), including the regular sharing of updates on the peace and order situation in major tourism destinations. This allows the DOT to remain informed and responsive to emerging safety and security concerns affecting tourists. 

As travelers increasingly seek digital connectivity for both security and leisure, the agency is ramping up efforts to improve internet access across destinations, particularly in the provinces. Through the continuing Wi-Fi Internet Access in Tourist Spots (WITS) Project led by the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), the DOT has proposed additional destinations for inclusion in Phase 2 of the project.

September is Tourism Month

For Secretary Angara-Mathay, the goal is not to change the direction of Philippine tourism, but to recalibrate it by building a more competitive, investment-ready, and inclusive industry where tourism is positioned not simply as a destination to promote, but as an ecosystem worth investing in, for the benefit of every Filipino who depends on it.

As the country marks Tourism Month this September, and the World Tourism Day this September 27, the message of the Secretary is clear: create the conditions that give investors confidence to put their capital in the Philippines, while giving tourists compelling reasons to come, stay longer, spend more, and return, sustaining economic opportunities for the millions of Filipinos whose lives depend on the industry’s performance.