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.

The Philippines has a steadily growing economy, with a gross domestic product (GDP) that reached over 461.6 billion U.S. dollars in 2024. Gross domestic product (GDP) denotes the aggregate value of all services and goods produced within a country in any given year. GDP is an important indicator of a country's economic power. The GDP of the Philippines is expected to increase substantially to around 746.5 billion U.S. dollars by 2030. The Philippines’ economy GDP of the Philippines has consistently grown at around six percent and is expected to remain constant through 2024. At the same time, the unemployment rate has fallen to about 2.5 percent in 2018, with an increasing amount of employment being within the services sector . Sectors of the economy The services sector is a significant economic sector in the Philippines economy, with a share of almost 60 percent in gross domestic product generation. Usually, a shift of GDP generation from agriculture to services is a sure sign of a growing economy - the same is true for the Philippines: Tourism and IT are industries within the services sector which has substantially contributed to the Philippines’ economic growth. The agriculture sector, although contributing to the Philippines’ export quantity, such as coconut oil and fruits, has declined over recent years, with more and more inhabitants moving to the cities to find work.

Philippines GDP: 2018p: sa: Exports: Services: Travel data was reported at 126,770.617 PHP mn in Dec 2024. This records an increase from the previous number of 103,173.147 PHP mn for Sep 2024. Philippines GDP: 2018p: sa: Exports: Services: Travel data is updated quarterly, averaging 54,497.291 PHP mn from Mar 2000 (Median) to Dec 2024, with 100 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 157,799.979 PHP mn in Dec 2019 and a record low of 1,491.089 PHP mn in Mar 2021. Philippines GDP: 2018p: sa: Exports: Services: Travel data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Philippine Statistics Authority. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Philippines – Table PH.A036: PSNA 5th Revision: Gross Domestic Product: Goods & Services: Exports: 2018 Price: Seasonally Adjusted.

In 2019, the unemployment rate in the Philippines was at approximately 2.24 percent and on a steady downward trend from 3.6 percent in 2014.

Souvenirs from overseas

The Philippines’ economy relies heavily on remittances from overseas, i.e. money sent home by Filipino emigrants and workers in other countries. In 2016 alone, approximately 30 billion U.S. dollars were received as remittances in the Philippines, and the amount seems to increase significantly every year. This makes the Philippines one of the leading countries worldwide when it comes to receiving remittances, only surpassed by India and China.

Visitors from overseas

The Philippines’ economy is stable, not only because of remittances, but also because of a flourishing services sector, which is now the main generator of GDP in the country; tourism and IT in particular contribute to economic growth. More than half of the Philippines workforce is employed in services.

In 2024, the Philippines’ consumer price inflation rate amounted to 3.21 percent compared to the previous year. The Philippines are considered “newly industrialized”, but the economy relies on remittances from nationals overseas, and the services sector generates most of its GDP. Emerging and soon to develop?After switching from agriculture to services and manufacturing, the Philippines are now an emerging economy, i.e. the country has some characteristics of a developed nation but is not quite there yet. In order to transition into a developed nation, the Philippines must meet certain requirements, like being able to sustain their economic development, being very open to foreign investors, or maintaining a very high stability of the institutional framework (like law enforcement and the government). Only if these changes are irreversible can they be classified as a developed nation. The Philippines’ switch to servicesEver since the switch to services and manufacturing, employment in these areas has increased and the country is now among those with the highest employment in the tourism industry worldwide. This transition was not entirely voluntary but also due to decreasing government support, the liberalization of trade, and reform programs. Still, agriculture is important for the country: As of 2017, more than a quarter of Filipinos are still working in the agricultural sector, and urbanization has only increased very slightly over the last decade.