Tourist arrivals to the Philippines slowly picked up after significant disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021. From roughly 1.48 million tourists in 2020, international visitor numbers rose to around 5.44 million in 2024. Despite the increase, this number remains much lower than the pre-pandemic level. State of inbound tourism in the Philippines  The tourism industry has shown significant improvements in the past three years, with flights returning to normal and tourists reviving their travel interests. Although domestic travelers continue to outnumber inbound ones, the number of international tourists in the Philippines has seen gradual growth recently. In 2023, tourism receipts also slightly surpassed the 2019 values. On average, international tourists in the Philippines stayed for about 11 nights in November 2023, spending less than 8,000 Philippine pesos daily. In 20234, more than a quarter of tourists arriving in the country came from South Korea, followed by those traveling from the United States and Japan. Airlines for international tourists  In 2023, most international passengers who traveled to the Philippines were carried by Philippine Airlines (PAL), which is the country’s flagship airline. The majority of visitors entered the country via Manila, followed by Cebu. Aside from PAL, international tourists also traveled through Cebu Pacific, which is a low-cost airline that offers both domestic and international flights.

South Korea was the biggest market for international tourists arriving in the Philippines in 2024, with about *** million travelers. Tourists from the United States came in second, reaching roughly *******. Post-pandemic tourism recovery The number of tourist arrivals significantly shows signs of recovery in 2024, at about *** million, after the disruptions caused by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. During the pandemic, foreign tourist arrivals dropped to merely *** million people from more than ***** million in the previous year. Surprisingly, this figure was even lower in 2021, which was just **** million tourists. The state of domestic travel While foreign tourist arrivals struggled during the pandemic, domestic tourism in the Philippines experienced fewer setbacks. In 2023 alone, about ** million overnight travelers were recorded, the majority of whom were domestic travelers. Cebu Pacific carried the highest number of domestic passengers in 2023, with PAL Express carrying just about half of the former's passenger volume.

Key information about Philippines Visitor Arrivals

• Philippines Visitor Arrivals recorded 396,852 person in Oct 2025, compared with 338,061 person in the previous month
• Philippines Visitor Arrivals data is updated monthly, available from Jan 1988 to Oct 2025
• The data reached an all-time high of 782,132 person in Jan 2020 and a record low of 357 person in May 2020

CEIC calculates monthly Tourist Arrivalsby subtracting Overseas Filipinos Visitors from Total Visitors. Statistics and Census Service provides Total Visitors and Overseas Filipinos Visitors. Tourist Arrivals include Same-Day Visitors.

Actual value and historical data chart for Philippines International Tourism Number Of Arrivals

The number of international tourist arrivals worldwide increased across all regions in 2024 over the previous year. While inbound tourist arrivals in the Asia-Pacific region and the Americas remained below pre-pandemic levels, they surpassed the figure from 2019 in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. Over the period considered, Europe reported the highest volume of inbound travelers, with almost *** million arrivals in 2024. What are the most visited countries by inbound travelers? With Europe being the most visited region by inbound travelers, it comes as no surprise that two European destinations top the ranking of the countries with the highest number of inbound tourist arrivals worldwide. Both before and after the impact of COVID-19, France and Spain reported the most inbound tourist arrivals in the world, ahead of the United States. That said, the United States was the country with the highest international tourism receipts worldwide over the same period. What is the global economic impact of travel and tourism? According to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), the total contribution of travel and tourism to the gross domestic product worldwide reached just under ** trillion U.S. dollars in 2024. This figure refers to the direct, indirect, and induced impact of the global travel and tourism sector. Meanwhile, the total number of travel and tourism jobs worldwide exceeded *** million that year.

In 2023, there were about **** million overnight domestic travelers in Region ** or the SOCCSKSARGEN region of the Philippines. In addition, about ***** foreign tourists that visited the region. Overall, there were about ** million overnight travelers nationwide.

International visitors from South Korea spent the most amount of money in the Philippines, with total tourism expenditure amounting to roughly ***** billion Philippine pesos as of July 2024. Visitors from the United States follow by a significant margin.

In 2023, the majority of overnight travelers in Region I or Ilocos Region in the Philippines were domestic travelers, totaling about *** million. In addition, there were about ****** overnight international travelers in the region in that year.

In 2023, about *** million overnight domestic travelers visited Region 7 or the Central Visayas region of the Philippines, indicating an increase from the previous year. Meanwhile, the number of foreign travelers in the region increased by over *** percent in 2023 compared to the previous year.

In 2023, there were roughly *** million overnight domestic travelers in Region 4-A or the CALABARZON region of the Philippines, up from the previous year. In addition, about ******* international travelers visited the region, alongside ***** overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

In 2023, there were about *** million overnight domestic travelers in Region 10 or the Northern Mindanao region of the Philippines. In addition, there were roughly ****** foreign tourists that visited the region in that year. The number of overnight travelers in the region gradually increased in the past three years.

In 2024, there were approximately *** million overnight domestic travelers in the National Capital Region of the Philippines, indicating a decline from the previous year. The number of international travelers in the region also decreased in that year.

In 2024, domestic visitor spending in the Philippines amounted to approximately **** trillion Philippine pesos, indicating an increase from the previous year. The domestic tourism expenditures in this year surpassed pre-pandemic peak figures.

In 2025, around *** million Chinese tourists took a domestic trip during the Chinese New Year holiday in January and February. This showed an almost *** percent increase in the number of travelers compared to the previous year.The new year wanderlust Lunar New Year in China is a time when families gather to relax and celebrate in their hometown. In the last few years before the COVID-19 pandemic, a new trend of “going out to see the world” has emerged among Chinese consumers. Instead of visiting relatives and friends, more people are eager to explore new places and experience new cultural thrills. Part of the growth is attributed to a rising disposable income, along with rapid economic progression in the country. In 2023, China’s GDP per capita amounted to nearly ****** U.S. dollars, more than a double in a decade. The travel bucket list Sightseeing in Chinese cities is particularly popular during the Spring Festival holiday. The most sought-after options include the warm southern cities, as well as northern snow and ice destinations. Before the pandemic, Sanya and Yunnan were the leading domestic destinations among Chinese high-end travelers during the season. When it comes to outbound travel, New Zealand, Vietnam, and Philippines were the Chinese tourist hot spots, mainly attributed to the warmer weather in these countries.

In 2023, there were approximately ***** thousand travelers form Japan to the Philippines. The number of travelers from Japan to the Philippines increased continuously since 2014 until the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic which halted most of outbound travel from Japan.

The tourism industry contributed *** percent to the gross domestic product (GDP) in the Philippines in 2024. This indicated an increase from just over **** percent during the COVID-19 pandemic years. However, it was still lower than the pre-pandemic GDP share.

There were about ***** million overnight domestic travelers, accounting for the highest share of travelers in the Philippines in 2023. In addition, there were **** million international tourists who stayed overnight in the country.

The number of employees in the accommodation, food, and beverage businesses in the Philippines increased by ******* in 2024 compared to the previous year, resulting in total employment of **** million. The employment figures in this sector dropped in 2020 and 2021 due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

According to a survey from Rakuten Insight conducted in June 2023, ** percent of the respondents in Singapore have used online travel agencies before. In comparison, ** percent of the respondents in the Philippines and Japan have used online travel agencies as of June 2023. The popularity of online travel The online travel market in the Asia-Pacific region (APAC) has been steadily increasing in the past few years, reaching a market value of over ** billion U.S. dollars. In Singapore, the gross merchandise value of the online travel sector was expected to further increase to *** billion dollars by 2030. The main reason why Singaporeans used OTAs was convenience, as consumers could book all they needed within a few minutes online. Tourism in the Asia-Pacific region Overall, APAC has a strong international and domestic tourism market. Despite the dip in the market during the COVID-19 pandemic, the region saw an increase in inbound visitor growth again. Furthermore, the expenditure on international tourism in APAC has exceeded ** billion dollars in certain countries, with China occupying the top spot in 2022.