The United States has overtaken South Korea to become the largest source of foreign tourists to the Philippines, according to the Southeast Asian country’s Department of Tourism.
Data released by the department showed that 531,859 visitors from the United States visited the Philippines between January and May, accounting for more than 20% of total foreign arrivals, Inquirer news site reported.
South Korea, its top source of tourists from 2023 to 2025, posted a 9.56% decline, recording 501,789 arrivals during the same period.
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Tourists on a beach in the Philippines. Photo by AFP |
The Philippines’ Tourism Secretary Dita Angara-Mathay said the government aims to strengthen tourism investment and partnerships with American businesses to sustain the upward trend, according to reports from Philstar.
The decline in South Korean arrivals comes after travel advisories issued by the South Korean embassy, which urged citizens to exercise caution when visiting the Philippines due to security concerns and to avoid high-risk areas.
South Korean tourists, the largest group of foreign visitors to the Philippines, were victims of several fatal shootings in the country last year.
The Philippines welcomed 5.6 million foreign visitors in 2025, nearly equal to the figure it logged in 2024.
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