The Philippines is urging Southeast Asian nations to collaborate on tourism rather than compete. At a meeting in Cebu, officials emphasized unity for sustainable growth. This initiative aligns with the country's hosting of key regional events this year.
With tourism often seen as a numbers game, the Department of Tourism has appealed to its Southeast Asian counterparts to "move forward not as competing destinations but as a unified region."
"The future of tourism in our region will not be shaped by any one country alone. It will be shaped by how well we align our strategies, our standards, our innovations and, most importantly, our resolve to ensure that tourism remains a force for good," Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco said in a statement read by Undersecretary Verna Buensuceso.
Buensuceso led the 63rd ASEAN National Tourism Organizations Meeting in Cebu City on Monday, bringing together senior tourism officials from ASEAN and partner countries. She urged fellow officials to pursue discussions yielding "outcomes that support sustainability without sacrificing growth, that accelerate digital transformation while protecting trust and safety and that keep communities at the heart of the tourism economy so that the benefits of travel are felt not only in arrivals but in myriad opportunities."
She also highlighted ASEAN's potential as a collective tourism destination. "When we talk about ASEAN, we also look at it as a single destination for tourism, so the idea is to really strengthen the ASEAN product, to strengthen our connections with various markets and also to look into how we can be easily connected to our other markets outside ASEAN," she said. More tourists to ASEAN would mean higher revenues for member states.
According to the Bureau of Immigration, the Philippines welcomed 6,484,060 foreign tourists in 2025—comprising 5,940,975 foreigners and 543,085 overseas Filipinos. By comparison, Malaysia received over 38.2 million visitors, Thailand over 32.9 million, and Vietnam over 21.1 million.
This year, the Philippines is hosting the ASEAN Summit and ASEAN Tourism Forum in Cebu, where member states will meet tourism officials from Australia, India, China, Japan, South Korea, and Russia.
Beyond tourism, ASEAN is also speaking out on global issues. During a high-level open debate at the United Nations Security Council on Monday, ASEAN called on the council to act swiftly to uphold peace and security amid complex challenges, including threats to the rule of law. "ASEAN underscores the importance of the Security Council acting in an efficient, consistent, transparent and non-selective manner, particularly in the application of international law, in order to uphold its credibility and effectively safeguard international peace and security," the bloc said in a statement read by Philippine permanent representative to the UN Enrique Manalo.
