THE Department of Tourism (DoT) said on Wednesday that budget cuts present “challenges” to achieving its mission of promoting the Philippines as a destination.
“Our work is to ensure that the number of tourists coming to the Philippines continues,” Tourism Secretary Ma. Esperanza Christina G. Frasco told reporters.
“It is quite a challenging time,” she added.
The Tourism department reported 2,905,363 foreign visitors arrived in the first six months of 2025.
The Bureau of Immigration also reported that international arrivals increased to 7,840,728 during the first half of 2025, up from 7,268,465 a year earlier.
The US remained the top source of tourists with 753,544 arrivals, followed by South Korea (745,623), Japan (256,776), China (229,915), and Australia (188,082).
Ms. Frasco noted that the department will continue to pursue collaborations to promote Philippine tourism.
“This includes partnerships with our airlines, tour operators and travel agencies,” she said, noting the efforts being undertaken via social media and the cultivation of opinion leaders, she said.
The destinations being promoted heavily in key source markets include Cebu, Bohol, Palawan, and Siargao, she said.
“With the difficult times that the entire world is facing now, if you wish to remember the essence of our humanity, our sense of community, feel a sense of family, you can get it all in the Philippines,” Ms. Frasco said.
The department’s branding budget in 2025 is P100 million, down from P200 million in 2024 and P1.2 billion in 2023.
“Why does Congress continue to cut the budget of an industry that not only creates millions of jobs but also contributes trillions to our economy?” Ms. Frasco said in late July.
She noted that regional rivals’ tourism industries benefit from “multi-million-dollar marketing allocations.” — Almira Louise S. Martinez
