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.

Tourist Arrivals in Philippines decreased to 450493 in April from 486171 in March of 2025. This dataset provides - Philippines Tourist Arrivals - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Philippines tourist spending for 2020 was 2.77 billion US dollars, a 75.83% decline from 2019.

<ul style='margin-top:20px;'>

<li>Philippines tourist spending for 2019 was <strong>11.46 billion US dollars</strong>, a <strong>17.91% increase</strong> from 2018.</li>
<li>Philippines tourist spending for 2018 was <strong>9.72 billion US dollars</strong>, a <strong>16.36% increase</strong> from 2017.</li>
<li>Philippines tourist spending for 2017 was <strong>8.35 billion US dollars</strong>, a <strong>32.76% increase</strong> from 2016.</li>
</ul>International tourism receipts are expenditures by international inbound visitors, including payments to national carriers for international transport. These receipts include any other prepayment made for goods or services received in the destination country. They also may include receipts from same-day visitors, except when these are important enough to justify separate classification. For some countries they do not include receipts for passenger transport items. Data are in current U.S. dollars.

Philippines PH: International Tourism: Number of Arrivals data was reported at 5,967,000.000 Person in 2016. This records an increase from the previous number of 5,361,000.000 Person for 2015. Philippines PH: International Tourism: Number of Arrivals data is updated yearly, averaging 2,733,000.000 Person from Dec 1995 (Median) to 2016, with 22 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 5,967,000.000 Person in 2016 and a record low of 1,760,000.000 Person in 1995. Philippines PH: International Tourism: Number of Arrivals data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Philippines – Table PH.World Bank.WDI: Tourism Statistics. International inbound tourists (overnight visitors) are the number of tourists who travel to a country other than that in which they have their usual residence, but outside their usual environment, for a period not exceeding 12 months and whose main purpose in visiting is other than an activity remunerated from within the country visited. When data on number of tourists are not available, the number of visitors, which includes tourists, same-day visitors, cruise passengers, and crew members, is shown instead. Sources and collection methods for arrivals differ across countries. In some cases data are from border statistics (police, immigration, and the like) and supplemented by border surveys. In other cases data are from tourism accommodation establishments. For some countries number of arrivals is limited to arrivals by air and for others to arrivals staying in hotels. Some countries include arrivals of nationals residing abroad while others do not. Caution should thus be used in comparing arrivals across countries. The data on inbound tourists refer to the number of arrivals, not to the number of people traveling. Thus a person who makes several trips to a country during a given period is counted each time as a new arrival.; ; World Tourism Organization, Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files.; Gap-filled total;

The Southeast Asian nation of the Philippines is a popular travel destination due to the several islands that form its topography. Tourism is a thriving source of revenue for the country, with the transportation services sector contributing about *** billion Philippine pesos, which was the largest share of the industry's income in 2024. Post-COVID tourism recovery After the travel restrictions imposed in 2020 until the early months of 2022, the tourism sector in the Philippines has finally shown signs of recovery. International tourist arrivals reached about **** million in 2024, reflecting a gradual increase since 2021. Tourism receipts also surpassed 2019 values, with tourism from South Korea and the United States being the country's leading tourist markets. Despite the inbound tourism recovery, domestic tourism expenditures remained the biggest contributor to the industry's revenue. State of outbound tourism In comparison to inbound and domestic tourism, outbound travel contributes the lowest expenditure in the Philippines. Across the different tourism-characteristic industries, spending on outbound tourism was highest for accommodation services, followed by food and beverage. Between May and December 2024, popular destinations for Filipino tourists were Hong Kong, Singapore, and Japan.

Key information about Philippines Visitor Arrivals

• Philippines Visitor Arrivals recorded 505,178 person in Feb 2025, compared with 578,224 person in the previous month
• Philippines Visitor Arrivals data is updated monthly, available from Jan 1988 to Feb 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.

Philippines PH: International Tourism: Number of Departures data was reported at 3,188,000.000 Person in 2009. This records a decrease from the previous number of 3,355,000.000 Person for 2008. Philippines PH: International Tourism: Number of Departures data is updated yearly, averaging 1,930,000.000 Person from Dec 1995 (Median) to 2009, with 15 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 3,355,000.000 Person in 2008 and a record low of 1,615,000.000 Person in 1995. Philippines PH: International Tourism: Number of Departures data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Philippines – Table PH.World Bank.WDI: Tourism Statistics. International outbound tourists are the number of departures that people make from their country of usual residence to any other country for any purpose other than a remunerated activity in the country visited. The data on outbound tourists refer to the number of departures, not to the number of people traveling. Thus a person who makes several trips from a country during a given period is counted each time as a new departure.; ; World Tourism Organization, Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files.; Gap-filled total;

Philippines Tourism Expenditure: Domestic data was reported at 2,644,833.000 PHP mn in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 2,108,216.000 PHP mn for 2016. Philippines Tourism Expenditure: Domestic data is updated yearly, averaging 519,391.000 PHP mn from Dec 2000 (Median) to 2017, with 18 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 2,644,833.000 PHP mn in 2017 and a record low of 182,059.000 PHP mn in 2000. Philippines Tourism Expenditure: Domestic data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Department of Tourism. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Philippines – Table PH.Q009: Tourism Expenditure .

Philippines PH: International Tourism: Receipts: for Travel Items data was reported at 5.153 USD bn in 2016. This records a decrease from the previous number of 5.273 USD bn for 2015. Philippines PH: International Tourism: Receipts: for Travel Items data is updated yearly, averaging 2.466 USD bn from Dec 1995 (Median) to 2016, with 22 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 5.273 USD bn in 2015 and a record low of 1.136 USD bn in 1995. Philippines PH: International Tourism: Receipts: for Travel Items data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Philippines – Table PH.World Bank.WDI: Tourism Statistics. International tourism receipts for travel items are expenditures by international inbound visitors in the reporting economy. The goods and services are purchased by, or on behalf of, the traveler or provided, without a quid pro quo, for the traveler to use or give away. These receipts should include any other prepayment made for goods or services received in the destination country. They also may include receipts from same-day visitors, except in cases where these are so important as to justify a separate classification. Excluded is the international carriage of travelers, which is covered in passenger travel items. Data are in current U.S. dollars.; ; World Tourism Organization, Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files.; Gap-filled total;

Philippines Tourism Employment (TE) data was reported at 48,185.046 Person th in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 46,886.683 Person th for 2022. Philippines Tourism Employment (TE) data is updated yearly, averaging 37,107.000 Person th from Dec 2000 (Median) to 2023, with 24 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 48,185.046 Person th in 2023 and a record low of 28,294.000 Person th in 2000. Philippines Tourism Employment (TE) data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Philippine Statistics Authority. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Philippines – Table PH.G049: Tourism Industry Employment.

International tourism, number of arrivals in Philippines was reported at 1483000 in 2020, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Philippines - International tourism, number of arrivals - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on July of 2025.

The Philippines: Tourist arrivals: The latest value from 2020 is 1483 thousand tourists, a decline from 8261 thousand tourists in 2019. In comparison, the world average is 4935 thousand tourists, based on data from 123 countries. Historically, the average for the Philippines from 1995 to 2020 is 3503 thousand tourists. The minimum value, 1483 thousand tourists, was reached in 2020 while the maximum of 8261 thousand tourists was recorded in 2019.

Philippines PH: International Tourism: Receipts data was reported at 6.333 USD bn in 2016. This records a decrease from the previous number of 6.415 USD bn for 2015. Philippines PH: International Tourism: Receipts data is updated yearly, averaging 2.889 USD bn from Dec 1995 (Median) to 2016, with 22 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 6.415 USD bn in 2015 and a record low of 1.141 USD bn in 1995. Philippines PH: International Tourism: Receipts data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Philippines – Table PH.World Bank.WDI: Tourism Statistics. International tourism receipts are expenditures by international inbound visitors, including payments to national carriers for international transport. These receipts include any other prepayment made for goods or services received in the destination country. They also may include receipts from same-day visitors, except when these are important enough to justify separate classification. For some countries they do not include receipts for passenger transport items. Data are in current U.S. dollars.; ; World Tourism Organization, Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files.; Gap-filled total;

In 2023, the total value of outbound tourism expenditure in the Philippines amounted to approximately *** billion Philippine pesos, reflecting a slight increase from the previous year. Despite the increase, outbound tourism expenditures have not yet recovered since the pandemic.

Abstract

Considering tourism as driver and contributor to the economic growth of the country, a national policy on tourism was passed - the Republic Act Numbered 9593 otherwise known as Tourism Act of 2009.With this Act, the State declares tourism “as an indispensable element of the national economy and an industry of national interest and importance, which must be harnessed as an engine of socio-economic growth and cultural affirmation to generate investment, foreign exchange and sense of national pride for all Filipinos”. Moreover, the Philippine Statistical Development Plan provides the blueprint of development of the tourism industry. This is in recognition of the importance, role and impact of tourism on the social and economic development and environment and cultural landscape in the country. Therefore, there is a need to measure the economic contribution of tourism as an input to effective and efficient policy research, monitoring, analysis and development of the tourism industry.

The Philippine Tourism Satellite Account (PTSA) provides the framework by which the economic contribution of tourism is measured. Using this account, it is possible to quantify the contribution of tourism industry in the economy within the context of the Philippine Systems of National Accounts (PSNA).

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) conducted the 2014 Survey of Tourism Establishments in the Philippines (STEP) second round. The 2014 STEP was a nationwide survey of establishments in the formal sector engaged in tourism characteristic industries. This survey collected information on the available supply of tourism goods, products and services, which are valuable inputs in the compilation of the PTSA.

The general objective of the 2014 STEP is to provide data on tourism characteristic establishments in the country.

Specifically, the 2014 STEP aims to: - provide data on the supply and capacity in terms of facilities and services - gather data on employment by sex and nationality - gather data on revenue generated from tourist - provide information on indicators for future expansion and/or renovation plans

Geographic coverage

Establishment with Total Employment (TE) 20 and Over - National and Regional Level Establishment with TE Less than 20 - National Level

Analysis unit

Establishment - defined as an economic unit, which engages, under a single ownership or control, i.e. under a single legal entity, in one or predominantly one kind of economic activity at a single fixed physical location. Thus, stores, shops, transport companies, hotels, restaurants, banks, insurance companies, real estate development companies and the like are considered establishments.

Universe

All tourism characteristic establishments operating in 2014.

Tourism characteristic industries as defined in the IRTS 2008 (International Recommendation of Tourism Statistics) with grouping according to industry sub-class (5-digit) of the 2009 PSIC.

It covered the following tourism characteristic industries: - Accommodation (I55 except I55901- Dormitories/boarding houses); - Chartered buses and cars operation (e.g. tourist buses, rent-a-car) (H49204 and H49324).

The other tourism characteristic industries were taken on a sampling basis.

Kind of data

Sample survey data [ssd]

Sampling procedure

In general, the establishment with total employment (TE) 100 and over is a certainty stratum for industries covered in the 2014 STEP.

For the purposes of 2014 STEP, only the following tourism characteristic industries regardless of employment size were completely enumerated (100% coverage): - I55101 - Hotel and motels - I55102 - Resort Hotels - I55103 - Condotels - I55104 - Pension Houses - I55105 - Camping sites/facilities - I55109 - Other shorts term accommodation activities - I55909 - Other accommodation

The sample establishments in the sampling strata of TE of less than 20 were selected using systematic sampling by industry domain and employment stratum at the national level. For each industry domain and employment stratum, the establishments are sorted by region, province from largest actual employment to smallest actual employment, business name and ECN.

For each of the sampling strata of TE of 20 and over (i.e. TE 20-49 and TE 50-99) sample establishments were selected using systematic sampling within the region. For each region in the employment stratum and industry domain, the establishments are sorted by province from largest actual employment to smallest actual employment, business name and ECN.

Systematic sampling was chosen so that the sample employment values were spread out, resulting from having representative samples for each TE size in the employment stratum. Likewise, this mode of sampling provided implicit stratification of TE by employment size group, thus avoiding all sample establishments with low TE values or high TE values.

Mode of data collection

Other [oth]

Research instrument

The following questionnaires were used in the survey: - STEP Form 1: Accommodation - STEP Form 2: Restaurants - STEP Form 3: Transport Operators; Tour and Travel Agencies - STEP Form 4: Health and Wellness - STEP Form 5: Other Tourism Activities

Cleaning operations

Manual processing took place in Provincial Offices at a number of stages throughout the processing, including: - coding of some data items - editing of questionnaires - completeness of entries check - consistency check among variables

Data processing was done in Field Offices and Central Office.

Field Offices: - completeness and consistency edits - folioing of questionnaires

Central Office: - online data encoding and updating - online validation - completeness and consistency checks - summarization - tabulation

Response rate

Total response rate as of 30 September 2016 for all establishments by tourism characteristic industry was 85.2 percent (6,142 out of 7,210 establishments).

Of the total responses, 65 establishments responded online.

Sampling error estimates

Not computed

Data appraisal

Data estimates would be checked with those from other related surveys or administrative data.

According to a survey conducted in the departure lobbies of Japanese airports and seaports throughout 2024, **** percent of Philippine tourists coming to Japan ate Japanese food during their trip, making it the most common activity among visitors from the Philippines. Shopping followed as the second most popular activity, with a participation rate of **** percent.

International tourism, receipts (% of total exports) in Philippines was reported at 3.4598 % in 2020, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Philippines - International tourism, receipts (% of total exports) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.

Philippines PH: International Tourism: Expenditures data was reported at 11.710 USD bn in 2016. This records a decrease from the previous number of 11.868 USD bn for 2015. Philippines PH: International Tourism: Expenditures data is updated yearly, averaging 3.180 USD bn from Dec 1995 (Median) to 2016, with 22 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 11.868 USD bn in 2015 and a record low of 551.000 USD mn in 1995. Philippines PH: International Tourism: Expenditures data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Philippines – Table PH.World Bank.WDI: Tourism Statistics. International tourism expenditures are expenditures of international outbound visitors in other countries, including payments to foreign carriers for international transport. These expenditures may include those by residents traveling abroad as same-day visitors, except in cases where these are important enough to justify separate classification. For some countries they do not include expenditures for passenger transport items. Data are in current U.S. dollars.; ; World Tourism Organization, Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files.; Gap-filled total;

In 2024, domestic tourism expenditures 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.

Tourism expenditure in other countries of Philippines sank by 62.31% from 12,926,000,000 current US dollars in 2019 to 4,872,000,000 current US dollars in 2020. Since the 0.26% growth in 2018, tourism expenditure in other countries plummeted by 60.94% in 2020. Series 3.4