Frasco: Natural disasters, infrastructure problems affect travel confidence
Tourism Secretary Ma. Esperanza Christina G. Frasco said efforts are underway to strengthen tourism confidence in the Philippines, as natural disasters and poor infrastructure projects are a burden on the tourism sector.
“Any negative perception of the Philippines tends to affect confidence in visiting the Philippines,” he told BusinessWorld on Tuesday on the sidelines of the event. “We’re here to deliver good news and build that traveler confidence again.”
Apart from infrastructure problems, Ms. Frasco mentioned that natural disasters have also affected the tourism sector in the country, affecting the lives of more than 43,000 tourism workers.
“In the past five months, there have been tragedies and hardships that have never been seen in the country,” he told reporters in an interview.
“In just five months, we have already seen 31 travel warnings issued by countries around the world, which have had a negative impact on tourism,” he added.
A report from the Department of Tourism (DoT) revealed that tourist arrivals decreased by 2.16%, falling from 5.35 million in the same period in 2024 to 5.235 million in the January to November period.
The majority of tourist arrivals, or 4.918 million, were from foreign visitors, with South Korea being the largest source of visitors in the first 11 months of the year, contributing 21.66%.
Although the country received 1.134 million visitors from South Korea, this was a 21% decrease from the 1.436 million Korean tourists last year.
Visitors from China, the country’s fifth largest tourist destination, also fell by 16.55%.
“We are well aware of the difficulties we have faced,” said Ms. Frasco. “In terms of China, as visas have been delayed again, and South Korea, with some issues raised regarding security.”
“We are working closely with our partner government agencies to manage these challenges…We continue to promote Philippine tourism through aggressive advertising campaigns,” he added.
Although the decline occurred in some markets, Ms. Frasco said the US, Canada, Australia, and parts of Europe have experienced “strong growth” in tourists.
Transportation tour and medical rest area
The first tourism and medical tourism team was launched as part of plans to attract more tourists and encourage passing passengers to explore the cultural and recreational areas of Manila.
The transfer, which costs USD $50, is open to passengers with an eight-hour layover in Manila. The four-hour tour can be at Intramuros and the National Museum, or Okada Manila and Solaire Resort.
Tour reservations can be made through the LovePH mobile app, Philippine Airlines website, partner tour operators, or check-in at the Transit Concierge Desks at NAIA Terminal 1 and 3.
“Even if you are in the Philippines for a few hours or waiting for your flight to your destination, you will get to know the cultural treasures and offerings of Metro Manila,” said the Tourism Secretary.
Meanwhile, a medical tourism concierge is an airport service dedicated to medical tourism patients.
Among the resources included in this project are assistance with patient arrival procedures and referral coordination to partner hospitals and clinics.
Some of the medical and lifestyle centers that partner with them are Medical City, St. Luke’s Medical Center, Asia Hospital and Medical Center, Makati Medical Center, and Belo Medical Group.
“We cannot deny all the storms and challenges we faced this year. It was an incredibly difficult year, especially in tourism,” said Ms. Frasco. “With the budget cut by 93%, our hands were tied.”
“Despite that, we have achieved many firsts in tourism in the Philippines,” he added, citing the newly launched tourism and medical tourism team.
The department’s production budget in 2025 is P100 million, down from P200 million in 2024 and P1.2 billion in 2023. Almira Louise S. Martinez
