Kulelat? But of course!

From January to August this year, Vietnam welcomed a record high of nearly 14 million international tourists. In comparison, the Philippines recorded only 3.96 million arrivals, fewer than in the same period in 2024.

Of the total arrivals so far this year, foreign tourists fell by 35.3 percent to 3.6 million from 5.6 million in the same period in 2019. Overseas Filipinos registered a seven-fold increase to 361,456 from 48,161 in 2019.

From all indications, the tourism industry has bounced back in Southeast Asia. The Philippine tourism industry, however, is as usual, kulelat. We have not recovered from the pandemic numbers.

South Korea, the top visitor source for the Philippines, showed a notable drop in April of 35 percent.

Analyst Eric Jurado looked into the region’s hospitality industry and reported that as of Sept. 12, 2025, figures showed “a remarkable recovery and, in some cases, unprecedented growth compared with just three years ago, reflecting the region’s post-pandemic rebound and structural shifts in tourism and travel…

“Vietnam and Indonesia are experiencing explosive growth… The Philippine market benefits from domestic tourism but…”

The impact of declining visitor numbers for the Philippines can be felt across the industry. Inadequate marketing support from the Department of Tourism is the common complaint heard from the industry players.

Yet, one wonders if the private tourism industry players and the DOT understand each other on what they mean by marketing support. The proposed $8 million promotions budget for 2026 is hardly enough to have a credible visibility in key markets.

The proposed 2026 DOT budget is just P3.7 billion. Compare that to the P142.7 billion that Sen. Chiz Escudero inserted into the 2025 national budget largely for flood control projects but also for general pork.

Then again, I understand that DOT has also been underspending its already meager budget.

It is obvious that neither the private tourism industry nor the DOT really knows what to do. They don’t have a work program with clear and measurable objectives.

Based on current performance, there is no confidence we can get beyond the current six million tourist arrivals next year.

Perception problems with personal safety among Korean tourists brought down arrivals this year and the problem cannot be addressed by increased advertising.

As I see it, the problem remains what it has always been through the years: we have neglected to do our homework that would make visitors want to come.

On top of the list is inadequate infrastructure and accessibility. Thailand’s well-developed infrastructure includes major airports (Suvarnabhumi, Phuket, Chiang Mai) and extensive domestic transport networks (buses, trains, ferries).

Vietnam’s infrastructure is improving and better than ours. The upcoming Long Thành International Airport (opening March 2026) will boost capacity to 25 million visitors.

NAIA is being modernized and civilized as quickly as the new private managers can. But there are still legal challenges from vested interests that could stop all development with an adverse ruling from the Supreme Court. Crab mentality at work.

We have decent airports like Clark and Mactan Cebu. But passengers don’t want to go to Clark. And the growth of traffic in Mactan Cebu hinges on the growth of tourism in the Visayas.

It may be time to resurrect the campaign of the late Gov. Lito Osmeña that unhinged Cebu tourism promotions from the Philippines: “Cebu: An island in the Pacific.”

My Singapore-based son would rather fly direct to Mactan than go through NAIA. Last week, he brought his wife and children to spend a week with us relaxing at Plantation Bay. And the kids loved it, proving we have the product to sell.

But Mactan, with all the resorts there, also needs clean piped water. For some reason, local officials have failed to renew a supply contract with the existing desalination plant.

We also must clean up our surroundings. We are wasting our money trying to make Fort Santiago and Intramuros pretty if we neglect to fix the Ermita-Malate tourist belt.

Even as a local resident, I stay away from this area because it simply doesn’t look safe. There are homeless people and street urchins begging and sleeping on sidewalks, parks and street islands.

Many buildings along Mabini and M.H. Del Pilar streets are old and dilapidated with seedy bars. Mayor Isko should probably raise property taxes enough to force property owners to either rebuild or sell.

Potential visitors will want to visit the old historic Manila and Chinatown, not our malls. And not to forget, we have fantastic museums in the old Congress and Agri-Fina buildings. Manila should be our main attraction if only Mayor Isko can clean it up.

The other thing that DOT should convince BBM to do is to match the visa policies of the leading tourism destinations in ASEAN. Thailand’s visa-free policies for over 90 countries drive arrivals. Vietnam is a bit more restrictive but it still has 90-day e-visas, exemptions for 25 countries.

The other important thing that our Presidents always forget is that the best people to head the tourism department can be found among its most experienced attachés. Those workhorses know what would make potential visitors in their areas of assignment come here. Venus Tan of Baguio comes to mind. She worked as a tourism attaché in Europe for 15 years.

Yet, these attachés are badly supported. Often, they don’t even have basic brochures to give out. The next tourism secretary should come from the ranks of those attachés.

Or from the entrepreneurs who are risking capital building hotels and resorts but often abused by bureaucrats, national and local, with useless rules and official extortion schemes.

Tourism is a major contributor to our economy. Our government must learn how to use it to create jobs and improve our country’s image. It is kulelat right now because those in charge have no idea what they are supposed to do. Sayang.

Boo Chanco’s email address is [email protected]. Follow him on X @boochanco.