The Philippines welcomed a post-pandemic record 6.48 million visitors in 2025 — still 21.5% below 2019, but the base is shifting in ways that matter: the United States has overtaken South Korea as the top source market in 2026, while visa-free entry has pushed China up 65% and India 43% in the first half of the year.
The Philippines closed 2025 with 6.48 million international visitors — the best year since COVID, yet still a fifth below the 8.26 million of 2019. The government's 2026 target is a cautious 6.4–6.8 million, and the first half delivered 3.16 million, up 5.4% year on year: recovery, but at walking pace.
Visitor receipts tell a stronger story: ₱694 billion in 2025, with spending per trip well above pre-pandemic patterns. Manila captures the largest share as the primary gateway through NAIA.
The biggest shift of 2026: the United States is now the top source market, with 581,565 arrivals in H1 (531,859 January–May, 19.4% share) — powered by the large Filipino-American VFR segment and new nonstop capacity, including Air Canada and Air India entering the market in 2025 and PAL fielding Southeast Asia's first A350-1000.
South Korea, the long-time #1 (1.57 million in 2024, 26.5% share), slid to second place with 501,789 H1 arrivals, down roughly 13.7% — a regional pattern of Korean outbound softness. Japan holds third place, having grown 22.8% to 444,000 in 2024.
Visa-free entry for Chinese and Indian nationals is the policy experiment of 2026 — and the early data is dramatic: Chinese arrivals up 65% and Indian arrivals up 43% in H1. The base is low (China delivered just 46,553 in Q1, still down 19.8% year on year before the policy bit), so the percentages flatter, but the direction is unambiguous.
Watch the winter season: if Chinese numbers hold through the peak months, Manila's hotel and gaming pipeline — Solaire North, Newport, the Bay Area resorts — gains a second demand engine alongside the Korean-Japanese leisure flow it was built for.
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