The Philippines’ top 12 visitor source markets have all posted increases except South Korea, with even long-haul markets such as Germany continuing to grow despite higher airfares triggered by tensions in the Middle East.
More relaxed visa policies have helped drive foreign tourist arrivals to the Philippines in the first half of 2026, but tourism leaders warn that sustaining the country’s growth requires more. They say stronger overseas marketing, expanded air connectivity, and a broader diversification of source markets are needed if the country is to finally regain its pre-pandemic footing.
Data from the Department of Tourism (DOT) showed inbound visitor arrivals reached 3.16 million from January to June, up 5.41 percent, year on year. Of the total, 2.9 million were foreign nationals, while 260,717 were overseas Filipinos, or Philippine passport holders permanently residing abroad.
The first-half tally falls 23.5 percent short of the 4.13 million visitors recorded in the same period in 2019, underscoring how the industry still has considerable ground to recover despite the improving numbers.
The DOT noted that the figures are based on mandatory e-travel registrations compiled by the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and will still be reconciled with Bureau of Immigration (BI) records before becoming final. Foreign diplomats and their family members, as well as visiting foreign government officials, their delegation, and dependents, are exempt from filling out e-travel forms.
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Visa liberalization pays off
Still, the clearest beneficiaries of the government’s visa liberalization effort, implemented just last year, were China and India. Tourists from China surged 64.54 percent, year on year, to 219,796, while visitors from India jumped 43.03 percent to 60,583, after both markets were granted 14-day visa-free entry for tourism.
The gains in the first six months of 2026 suggest that easing entry requirements can quickly stimulate demand, particularly in markets where visa restrictions have long been viewed as a barrier to travel.
However, tourism industry leaders cautioned against attributing the entire growth story to visa reforms.
“The latest figures are encouraging and provide reason for cautious optimism that the Philippines can surpass last year’s international visitor arrivals if the current momentum continues. However, sustaining that growth will require a deliberate strategy to expand demand beyond our traditional source markets,” said Tourism Congress of the Philippines (TCP) President James Montenegro.
US retains top spot
The United States retained its position as the Philippines’ largest source market, sending 581,565 visitors in the first half of the year, up 6.9 percent year on year.
Much of this traffic continues to be generated by Filipino-Americans returning home to visit relatives, particularly during the holiday season. The market is expected to receive another boost after Delta Air Lines recently announced it will begin nonstop flights between Los Angeles and Manila in March 2027, eventually increasing these to daily services by June.
According to the US Census Bureau, more than 4 million Filipino-Americans live in the United States.
“For many Filipino-Americans, coming to the Philippines is more than a vacation. It is a journey home,” said Acting Tourism Secretary Ma. Bernadita Angara-Mathay, commenting on Delta’s new service.
She added that the DOT will continue working with airlines to improve connectivity while curating more heritage-focused travel experiences for balikbayans and second- and third-generation Filipino-Americans.
South Korea remains the weak spot
Although still the country’s second-largest source market with 552,860 arrivals, South’s Korean visitors declined 13.7 percent, year on year, offsetting much of the gains from China and India.
The rest of the top source markets all expanded, led by Japan at 581,565 (+6.87 percent); Australia at 174,257 (+12.3 percent); Canada at 156,763 (+15.6 percent); Taiwan at 111,134 (+11.85 percent); the United Kingdom at 92,829 (+1.7 percent); Singapore at 78,069 (+0.35 percent); Malaysia at 53,437 (+11.5 percent); and Germany at 48,657 (+6.9 percent).
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Growth, but not yet recovery
For the hotel industry, the latest figures point to progress—but not yet a full recovery. “We maintain a cautiously optimistic outlook regarding the Philippines’ tourism performance and our ability to surpass last year’s inbound arrival numbers—even as the DOT recalibrates its targets,” said Benito C. Bengzon Jr., executive director of the Philippine Hotel Owners Association.
“While geopolitical developments such as Middle East tensions remain a major concern, they have not noticeably affected current arrival figures,” he noted.
But he stressed that declaring a full recovery would be premature. “We believe it is difficult to speak of a full recovery until our inbound tourist arrivals return to pre-pandemic 2019 baseline levels, when foreign arrivals reached over 8.2 million,” he said.
Last year’s foreign visitor arrivals stood at about 5.9 million, while the DOT is aiming to attract 6.7 million tourists this year under its 2026 budget-approved performance targets.
Beyond visas
Industry leaders believe the next phase of tourism growth will depend less on immigration policy than on improving access to the country.
Montenegro argued that while visa-free entry has proven effective, “air connectivity remains the single biggest structural constraint to Philippine tourism.”
“We continue to lose market share to neighboring destinations because they have invested aggressively in international gateways and direct air services,” he stressed. “Bali, for example, now attracts more international visitors than the entire Philippines—clear evidence of what is possible when connectivity, infrastructure, and destination marketing are aligned.”
He urged the government to adopt a national route development strategy that will encourage more international airlines to fly directly to key tourism gateways such as Cebu, Boracay, and Palawan through marketing partnerships and incentives.
The TCP chief also recommended intensifying promotions in the United States, Canada, and Australia—markets that are less dependent on Middle Eastern airline hubs and have consistently delivered higher-yield visitors.
Other tourism stakeholders likewise see opportunities in Europe, the United Kingdom, and the Scandinavian countries, whose travelers have alternative routes into Asia despite recent disruptions in Middle East airspace.
Taken together, the first-half figures suggest that the Philippines has regained some of the momentum it lost during the pandemic. But while easier visa policies have opened the door to more visitors, industry leaders say the country’s longer-term competitiveness will hinge on whether it can put enough airline seats—and compelling destination marketing—behind that welcome mat.
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