The Department of Tourism (DOT) is seeking a budget of P3.5 billion in 2026 to strengthen the sector amid the headwinds brought on by geopolitical tensions, security risks and climate-related challenges, Secretary Christina Frasco said on Thursday.
“Pre-pandemic funding allocated for tourism promotions exceeded a billion pesos and it is unrealistic to expect a full recovery to 100 percent by investing only P100 million to P200 million,” Frasco said in a press conference in Makati City.
DOT has seen a perennial cut in its budget post-pandemic, according to Frasco. This year, its allocation is pegged at P100 million, down from P200 million in 2023 and P1.2 billion in 2022.
Frasco said tourism receipts from January to May amounted to $4.2 billion, up .48 percent from the same period in 2024. Tourist arrivals as of July 31 were at 3.47 million.
She did not give comparative figures but a Malaya Business Insight report on August 9, 2024 quoted the DOT as saying arrivals as of that date reached 3.6 million.
Frasco said out of the proposed P3.5-billion budget in 2026, the DOT intends to use the P500 million for marketing and promotion.
Bulk of the budget will be used for convergence projects in collaboration with other agencies such as the Department of Public Works and Highways for infrastructure and other connectivity projects.
According to Frasco, the slowdown in arrivals from source markets can also be attributed to the country’s visa policy particularly for Chinese nationals. China is one of the country’s biggest tourism markets.
“Post-pandemic, the Asean region has liberalized its visa policies, with the Philippines being one of the last remaining countries with a stringent policy,” Frasco said.
Visa-free arrivals are now permitted for Taiwan and India, two of the world’s largest outbound markets.
“We will demonstrate that the investments in the tourism industry have yielded tangible results. While certain performance metrics may not yet match pandemic levels, others have,” Frasco said.
