MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Tourism (DOT) will become “aggressive” in enticing more tourists from India to visit the Philippines.
Over five million tourists from India visited countries that make up the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in 2024, according to Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia-Frasco, citing data from ASEAN.
Of the number, Frasco said only around 79,000 Indians visited the Philippines last year.
According to DOT data, India ranked 13th in terms of number of foreign visitors to the Philippines in 2024 – a total of 78,995 travelers.
The figure was slightly higher than the 70,286 Indian visitors in 2023, and 51,542 in 2022 when the Philippines reopened its borders after the COVID-19 pandemic.
To be able to entice more tourists from India, which Frasco considers a “promising outbound tourism market for the Philippines,” she said the DOT would advocate for liberalized visa issuance policy for Indian tourists.
In October 2024, the Department of Foreign Affairs rolled out the electronic visa for Indian nationals visiting the Philippines.
“We are hopeful that with President Marcos’ directive to improve efficiencies in e-travel for India, we will be able to get a huge chunk of the Indian market,” Frasco said.