Blackouts costing Philippine tourism millions, think tank warns

A Philippines energy think tank called for stable power supply to help the country’s tourist destinations thrive, citing the devastating economic impact of recent blackouts in major tourism hotspots.

The Center for Energy Research and Policy (CERP) said a 14-day power outage in Siargao in December 2024 underscored critical vulnerabilities facing the country’s tourism sector. The blackout, caused by a submarine cable failure, affected nine municipalities, including General Luna, a major surfing destination.

According to a CERP analysis, the outage resulted in about P1.09 billion in economic losses, with businesses reporting daily losses of P10,000 to P30,000.

“Energy disruptions have a profound ripple effect on tourism activities, causing both direct and indirect economic impacts,” said Yla Paras, CERP’s lead economist. “The tourism industry can only function and thrive with a stable and sufficient electricity supply.”

CERP presented its findings to officials from the Department of Tourism (DOT), highlighting that energy insecurity extends beyond Siargao.

The group noted that Palawan continues to experience scheduled blackouts, while Boracay suffered an 18-hour outage in May 2025. Siquijor was also declared under a state of calamity in June 2025 after a month-long power outage.

The think tank offered its research support to help integrate energy security into tourism frameworks and assist local governments with destination planning. The discussion identified key challenges, including the lack of technical capacity for infrastructure planning in many local governments, which often take a reactive rather than a proactive approach to tourism development.

Both organizations explored a potential partnership on energy-tourism integration, with CERP committing to share its upcoming study on Siquijor with the DOT.

Tourism contributed P3.86 trillion or 8.9 percent of the Philippines’ GDP in 2024 and employed 13.82 percent of the workforce.