Philippines tourism expects ‘big boost’ from ASEAN chairmanship – DOT

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January 25, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — After a lackluster 2025, the tourism industry is expected to get a “big boost” from the country’s chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) this year, according to Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco.

“Historically, our numbers are not that big, that’s why we look on having a more visible presence in the ASEAN,” Frasco told reporters last week.

She noted that tourist arrivals from other ASEAN member-states were not as high as those from other countries.

Based on Bureau of Immigration records of tourist arrivals in 2025, Singapore posted the biggest among ASEAN but only ninth among the Philippines’ 10 top sources of tourists, at 115,341 travelers.

Malaysia was at 12th place with 104,989, Indonesia at 17th with 49,903, Thailand at 20th with 38,863 and Vietnam at 21st with 33,559.

Myanmar was at 46th place, Brunei at 49th, Cambodia at 56th, Laos at 84th and ASEAN’s newest member Timor Leste at 99th.

For this year, the Department of Tourism (DOT) has kicked off an “intensified global promotion campaign” targeting “identified specific markets that have shown high rates of conversion and potential.”

“We aim to fully recover the South Korean market,” she said, explaining that the decline in South Korean tourists was observed in other countries as well.

The DOT, she added, will also “capitalize on the very reliable US market and work on Canada, especially with new connectivities with Air Canada.”

She also bared a “very targeted and intensified campaign” for the Indian tourist market, citing a 21 percent growth in arrivals from the South Asian country.

With the recent restoration of visa-free entry for Chinese visitors, Frasco said the DOT would also “work with our offices in Beijing and Shanghai and with the private sector” to attract more travelers from China.

She noted that the Philippines has recovered “less than 50 percent” of the pre-pandemic tourist arrivals from China.

Meanwhile, the province of Bohol also expects to benefit much from its hosting of the ASEAN Senior Economic Officials Meeting (SEOM) which runs until Jan.31.

Gov. Aris Aumentado said senior economic officials and delegates to the 57th SEOM held their first meeting in the tourist town of Panglao last week. The ASEAN event began last Jan. 15.

He said Bohol takes pride in hosting SEOM, with this year’s theme “Navigating Our Future, Together.”

At a dinner hosted by the provincial government, Marie Sherylyn Aguia, director of the Bureau of International Trade Relations of the Department of Trade and Industry, cited the prospect of greater economic dividends from the province’s hosting of SOEM.

Aumentado and Energy Secretary Sharon Garin earlier welcomed ASEAN energy delegates at the South Palms Hotel in Panglao, Bohol.

More than 1,700 personnel from the Philippine National Police, Armed Forces of the Philippines, Bureau of Fire Protection, Philippine Coast Guard and Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office have been dispatched to provide security to delegates and visitors. A gun ban is in force around Panglao Island. — Ric Obedencio