US overtakes South Korea in Philippines tourist arrivals

MANILA, Philippines — The United States has overtaken South Korea in terms of tourist arrivals in the Philippines, data released yesterday by the Department of Tourism showed.

The DOT reported that from January to May, the US registered 531,859 visitors while South Korea had 501,789 tourist arrivals.

The US and South Korea posted 19.40 percent and 18.31 percent, respectively, of the total tourism arrivals in the country.

South Korea had a negative growth rate of 9.56 percent in 2025, after it recorded 554,855 visitors.

This is in contrast to the US, which has grown from 496,742 tourists, or by 7.07 percent.

In 2025, the embassy of South Korea released advisories to its citizens to limit outdoor activities in the Philippines due to security concerns.

For the past years, South Korea had consistently been the top source of visitors in the Philippines. But the number has steadily gone down amid crime incidents targeting Koreans.

The number of visitors from China also dropped considerably, also due to personal safety concerns and the maritime conflict between the two countries.

The US and South Korea are followed by Japan (8.26 percent), China (6.84 percent) and Canada (6.06 percent).

Meanwhile, Tourism Secretary Dita Angara-Mathay said the Philippines would continue to pursue stronger tourism investment and partnerships with American businesses and stakeholders to sustain tourism demand.

The DOT said international tourist arrivals have increased by 7.51 percent in the past five months.

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