The Philippines hopes that the return of the China eVisa program in November will help boost the number of Chinese tourists, after they have declined compared to neighboring Southeast Asian countries.
According to Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco, the government expects Chinese tourists to increase again with the return of eVisa. She said this is a big step to regain the lost market. But she clarified the results will be seen next year because it usually takes six months to see the impact of marketing campaigns.
The Department of Tourism (DOT) plans to work with airlines and travel partners in China to increase charter flights to the Philippines. According to DOT data, a total of 203,923 Chinese tourists arrived from January to September 2025—far from the target of 2 million.
In the first four months of 2025, the Philippines recorded 2.1 million foreign tourists, 3.2% less than in 2024. Meanwhile, the number is higher in neighboring countries such as Malaysia with ₱334 million (13.4M) and Thailand with ₱302 million (12.1M) tourists.
Before the pandemic, China was the Philippines' second largest market, with 1.7 million tourists in 2019. The DOT is now hoping that with the return of the eVisa, the number of Chinese visitors will increase again and this will help boost tourism in the country.