Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia-Frasco warned that the reduced funding for tourism programs and stricter policies on foreign visitors could hinder the Philippines from reaching its visitor arrival targets.
Frasco said the Department of Tourism’s (DOT) branding and promotions budget for 2025 under the General Appropriations Act (GAA) was slashed from proposal in the National Expenditure Program (NEP).
“The most affected change from NEP to GAA is the budget for branding and promotions of the Philippines globally. Under NEP, it was P500 million, but this was cut to P100 million in the GAA,” she said.
Frasco highlighted the drastic reduction in the DOT’s branding budget from P1.2 billion in 2023 to only P200 million in 2024, representing a P1-billion decrease.
She said this would challenge the DOT’s efforts to sustain international interest in Philippine destinations.
“The limited funding reduces the Philippines’ presence in the consciousness of potential travelers globally,” she said, adding that the cuts could also impact the “Love the Philippines” campaign and promotions for local destinations.
Despite a 9.15-percent increase in arrivals from 2023, the Philippines welcomed 5.95 million international visitors in 2024—short of the DOT’s 7.7 million target under the National Tourism Development Plan (NTDP) 2023–2028.
Frasco identified the suspension of electronic visas (e-visas) for Chinese travelers as a significant hurdle.
“We projected over 2 million Chinese tourists in 2024, but only a little over 300,000 arrived,” she said, noting the stark contrast to ASEAN neighbors offering visa-free or visa-on-arrival policies for Chinese visitors.
Chinese arrivals dropped sharply from 1.7 million in 2019 to 312,222 in 2024.
She expressed optimism about the rollout of e-visas for Indian travelers.
“The Indian market presents a large opportunity for the Philippines,” she said, noting the Department of Foreign Affairs’ (DFA) implementation of e-visa applications in Indian cities like New Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata and Mumbai.