The Department of Tourism (DOT) is appealing for a higher budget in 2026, proposing PHP3.1 billion, with PHP500 million earmarked for branding and promotion of the Philippines as a global tourist destination, Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco said on Thursday.

In a media briefing in Makati City, Frasco pointed out that the DOT is “underfunded” compared to the multimillion-dollar marketing efforts being mounted by its neighboring destinations.

“The fact of the matter remains that Congress slashed the budget of the Department of Tourism by no less than 83 percent in terms of its promotions funding from PHP1.2 billion to only PHP200 million in 2024, and slashed it by half yet again to only PHP100 million in 2025,” she said.

Frasco defended the agency against criticisms of underperformance, highlighting that despite budget cuts and missed international arrival targets, the Philippines still recorded a historic PHP3.86 trillion in domestic and foreign tourism receipts in 2023.

The sector also directly employed over six million Filipinos— a “return of over 1,900,000 percent,” she said.

In 2019, the Philippines welcomed 8.26 million foreign visitors, with the DOT’s funding for promotions in the same year pegged at over PHP1 billion.

“You cannot expect a full recovery to 100 percent by investing only 100 to 200 million pesos and expect the same numbers,” she said.

Frasco disclosed that the DOT is recalibrating its targets for 2025, taking into consideration “circumstances surrounding tourism competitiveness.”

“In terms of the targets, it’s at present being recalibrated because the challenges come day-to-day as well,” she said.

In addition to budget constraints, Frasco pointed to geopolitical tensions and economic slowdowns in key tourism source markets like South Korea as major challenges impacting visitor numbers.

The continued suspension of the eVisa, she said, is also an “immense challenge” for the DOT in attracting visitors from China.

Despite the setbacks, Frasco vowed that the DOT would continue to promote the country in key and emerging markets, including the US, Canada, South Korea, and the Middle East nations such as the United Arab Emirates.

“We’re fighting back in terms of the headwinds that we are facing with policy shifts that are strategic interventions into the tourism industry’s prospects for the end of the year,” she said.

“We certainly would welcome higher tourism receipts for the country as well as more arrivals— but then again, that is also determined by the amount of funding that is provided for the department. As things stand, with only PHP100 million in promotions for 2025, it is extremely difficult to allow the Philippines a fighting chance as far as its competitors,” she added. (PNA)