On the X platform, content creator Thea Tan (Philippines) raised this issue along with a series of evidence. Her post attracted one million views and thousands of interactions. The article attracted the attention not only of the Philippines but also of international visitors. This has also sparked debate on why there are more tourists coming to Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia than the Philippines.
The debate became more and more intense when Thea Tan wrote: "The Philippines possesses things that other countries must dream of such as beautiful beaches such as prime locations, vibrant culture, great cuisine and warm locals. Why do tourists still choose to go to Thailand, Vietnam and Bali instead of us? ".
Thea Tan also cited data from travel research company Outbox, in the first 4 months of the year, Southeast Asia welcomed 48.5 million visitors while the Philippines only had 2.1 million.
Malaysia leads the ASEAN region with 13.4 million visitors, Thailand and Vietnam respectively welcomed 12.09 million and 7.67 million visitors in the same period.
Previously, in 2024, the Philippines welcomed 5.9 million international visitors, approaching the number of visitors to Cambodia of 6.7 million. While Thailand topped with 35.5 million, Malaysia and Vietnam ranked right behind with 25 and 17.6 million.
Although recognizing the efforts of the country's tourism, Thea Tan still believes that "small victories that cannot hide the bigger truth is that the Philippines is still not a priority destination in the ASEAN region". She described her hometown as " tiring" for tourists because the infrastructure and transportation systems are not enough to meet the needs. While other countries are easier. For example, traveling from the airport to bus stations in the Philippines is also difficult.
People who share the same opinion from other X users complain about high costs and difficult travel.
A comment on Thea Tan's post: "The Philippines has beautiful beaches, delicious food, friendly and smiley people, but we lack roads and airports, many traffic problems occur every day. And the most important thing is the price. Philippine tours are too expensive".
Another person agreed: "Even for domestic visitors, it is very difficult, let alone international visitors. Traveling abroad is still more convenient and cheaper".
SCMP also received many comments such as concerns about safety and security, waste, and the small number of airports that make travel difficult and time-consuming.
The Philippines is famous for having many beautiful islands such as Boracay, Palawan are often top tourist destinations globally. In 2024, Boracay will be on the WTA's list of the world's top luxury island destinations.
However, the number of visitors to the island in the first 4 months of the year decreased by 26% compared to before the Covid period. In particular, Korean tourists, who are the top in Philippine tourism, also decreased sharply. Only 468,337 South Korean visitors will visit the country from January to April 2025, down 18% over the same period in 2024.
Edieser Santa Dela, an expert at the Asian Tourism Institute at a university in the Philippines, shared: "This is alarming for the Philippines because we have led Southeast Asia, ahead of Indonesia and Vietnam. But now Cambodia is also starting to surpass us in tourism. In 2024, the number of visitors to the Philippines is also much lower than the target set by the government of 7.7 million".
Eylla Gutierrez, director of the Asia Institute for Management and a tourism researcher, told This Week in Asia: "It is necessary to consider tourism revenue and overall value from tourists."
Destinations such as Baguio City, northern Philippines are benefiting from tourism as industry revenue accounts for 25% of the city's GDP.
Ms. Gutierrez said that more and more leaders are realizing that the number of visitors does not fully reflect the effectiveness of the tourism industry. The current slowdown in the number of visitors is not necessarily a decline but a transformation in the national tourism strategy.
Philippine tourism after COVID-19 is shifting to focusing on quality, responsibility and sustainability.
This, according to Ms. Gutierrez, means prioritizing highly informed tourists, spending more and connecting with the local community more, compatible with global trends.
Philippine tourism revenue in 2024 exceeded pre-COVID-19 levels by 13.2 billion USD, showing stronger consumption and the ability to transform value and tourism more sustainably.
Referring to the limitations of Philippine tourism, and the reason for the slow recovery after the pandemic, Dela Santa said: "Manila has fewer direct flights in the region than in neighboring countries, only one European airline flies directly to the capital. In contrast, Bangkok welcomes many direct flights every week from Paris, London, Rome".
The Philippines' major tourist markets are also less. Direct flights to domestic destinations are also limited because the airport is not equipped enough to receive international flights.
Domestic travel is also complicated as flights to Batanes and Siargao islands depart from Clark Airport, 2-3 hours by car from the capital Manila. Although it reduces the load on the main airport in Manila, it is inconvenient for tourists who want to explore many places.
To improve the Philippine tourism industry, Ms. Gutierrez said that it is necessary to have the participation of the whole society, upgrade infrastructure, improve connectivity, improve management capacity and develop vocational skills for people.
