The World Tourism Barometer by UN Tourism (UNWTO) reported that worldwide international tourism has seen growth of 5% YOY reaching about 690M tourists during the first half of 2025. Despite geo-political challenges, rising travel costs and trade tensions, this growth translated to 4% above pre-pandemic year 2019.

Likewise, as of H1 2025, UNWTO showed that tourist arrivals increased by 11% YOY in the Asia Pacific region, but still 8% lower than 2019. Southeast Asia countries are experiencing an uneven tourism recovery with Vietnam and Indonesia projected to surpass their 2019 tourist arrivals. Meanwhile, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Cambodia are inching closer to their pre-pandemic tourist arrival numbers.

Boracay has reopened after a six-month closure, to praises from admiring visitors.The pristine beach is clean, gleaming and devoid of remnants of tourist partying, once again showcasing the natural beauty that made this island world-famous.

As the government continues its rehabilitation efforts, Boracay is now a benchmark and a sore reminder for the Philippines on the triumphs and travails of tourism. It was a contentious closure, now deemed a success by the government. But Boracay’s fate brings to light an urgent issue on the unsure future of our islands.

With the Philippines being an archipelago, many of our islands rely on tourism for livelihood. As the increasing influx of tourists to the Philippines has pushed the demand for more accommodation facilities, the booming travel and tourism market is hot, hot, hot with opportunities for property developers. No doubt our thriving tourism industry is a critical contributor to the economy, especially in providing much needed jobs to the remote areas. Tourism accounts for 14.4 million jobs in the nation, benefiting local livelihood and small businesses, including retail, food and beverage, as well as logistics and transportation.

Composed of 7,641 islands (the official count was updated from 7,107*), the Philippines has much to offer in terms of natural attractions and destinations. Yet, the country is still lagging behind neighboring countries such as Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia when it comes to tourist arrivals. The biggest obstacles in attracting foreign tourists to the country are poor infrastructure and inadequate access—making it expensive and difficult to travel to and within the country—which President Duterte is addressing aggressively through his proposed Build! Build! Build! program.

This ambitious agenda will see $160B to $180B go into implementing 75 flagship projects, including six airports, nine railways, three bus rapid transits, 32 roads and bridges, and four seaports. If successful, Build!Build!Build! will generate more jobs, encourage countryside investments, and make the movement of goods and people more efficient, possibly ushering in a “golden era” of economic development. With this effort, the Department of Tourism is confident that it can double the number of foreign tourist arrivals and increase tourism revenue by 90 percent by 2022. This program is also a worthy complement to the hospitality boom the Philippines is presently enjoying.