The Philippines Department of Tourism (DOT) attributed the shortfall in meeting its 2024 target of 7.7 million international tourists to budget cuts for tourism programs and stringent policies for foreign visitors.
The country welcomed just over 5.4 million international visitors, falling short of the target by a significant margin.
According to a release on the department’s website, which shared content from an interview with local television, DOT Secretary Christina Garcia-Frasco pointed out that a key factor in the shortfall was the reduction in funding for the agency’s branding and promotion programs.
The budget was slashed from PHP500 million ($8.5 million) under the National Expenditure Program (NEP) to only PHP100 million ($1.7 million) in the General Appropriations Act (GAA). This cut, along with a PHP1 billion ($17 million) reduction in the DOT’s branding budget for 2024, created challenges in attracting international travelers.
Meanwhile, Frasco also highlighted that the suspension of the e-visa for Chinese visitors contributed to the shortfall. Only around 300,000 Chinese tourists arrived, far below the projected 2 million. She noted that neighboring ASEAN countries maintained more lenient visa policies for Chinese travelers, further impacting the Philippines’ tourism numbers.
Despite these challenges, the DOT reported that the Philippines generated PHP760.50 billion ($12.95 billion) in tourism revenue from inbound tourism expenditures—representing the total amount spent by non-resident visitors—from January 1st to December 31st, 2024. This marks a notable increase of 9.04 percent compared to PHP697.46 billion ($11.87 billion) recorded in 2023.Â
Furthermore, the current figures surpass pre-pandemic levels, exceeding the estimated PHP600.01 billion ($10.21 billion) in 2019 by an impressive 26.75 percent. This performance translates to a recovery rate of 126.75 percent for the local tourism economy, underscoring the sector’s resilience and vitality.