The Philippines continues to fall short of its tourism arrival targets despite the global travel industry already surpassing pre-pandemic levels, triggering sharp exchanges among government officials over what needs to change.
Data showed the country recorded 5.94 million international visitor arrivals in 2024, marking a 9.15 percent increase from 2023, but still far from the government’s 7.7 million target for the year. Total visitor arrivals reached around 6.48 million last year, reflecting only a slight 0.76 percent rise compared to 2024, even as leisure travel globally grew by an average of 4 percent.
The gap in performance drew attention during a Congressional hearing this week, where a lawmaker raised concerns that the Philippines is being outpaced by neighboring Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia, Vietnam, and Thailand, which each recorded between 15 million to 30 million visitors in 2024.
Senator Raffy Tulfo pointed to what he described as flawed promotional tactics by the Department of Tourism, accusing Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco of focusing on her own image rather than highlighting the country’s destinations.
“I’m very sorry, Secretary Frasco. It seems like you’re turning into a vlogger. It will not sell if the marketing materials are filled with your face. It shouldn’t happen,” Tulfo said.
During the proceedings, Tulfo presented slides showing Frasco appearing in tourism-related posters, magazine covers, and social media reels, often posed like a model.
“For example, there’s this magazine in Japan. I think it’s a free publication. It was supposed to be an opportunity to showcase our tourism industry in Japan,” he said. “Instead, it’s you who appears. Just you, even during the groundbreaking ceremonies,” he added.
Tulfo said the tourism department should prioritize promoting Philippine destinations, cuisine, wellness offerings, and cultural experiences rather than personalities.
Frasco denied being responsible for the placement of her photos in the materials, saying she did not authorize their use and only learned about the content after publication.
“My understanding is that the photo used on the cover was lifted from the coverage of a particular event, and the contents of the magazine were all lifted materials,” Frasco explained.
“These were not the product of interviews conducted with me, because there were none,” she added.
Tulfo maintained that such an approach is uncommon abroad, telling the tourism chief: “In other countries like Vietnam, Korea, Malaysia, and Japan, you don’t see the faces of their tourism secretaries in promotional materials.”
Despite the ongoing debate over strategy, the Philippines remains behind in tapping key international markets, including the Middle East, where only 40,000 tourists from the UAE visited the country in 2024 even as Emirates increased its flights and promoted the Philippines to expats and Emiratis.
