Philippines Faces Staggering Road to Recovery as Southeast Asia’s Most Tourism-Dependent Destination
Photo Credit: Jeepneys in the Philippines: When will they carry tourists again? Flickr / Jeff Jacinto
Skift Take
As the Southeast Asian country that depends the most on tourism, the Philippines will have to work doubly hard to shed its underachiever image in the post-pandemic world.
Of all the major Southeast Asian destinations, the Philippines appears the worst-hit by the pandemic.
The country, despite being one of the earliest tourism players in the region and blessed with beautiful beaches and unique culture, has never managed to rub shoulders with neighbors that have grown arrivals to massive levels. Top on the list is Thailand, with 40 million arrivals in 2019, followed by Malaysia with 26 million and Singapore, 19 million. But the Philippines drew just eight million arrivals while Vietnam, a relative newcomer, passed the 18 millionth visitor mark.
While it cuts the smallest pie among the top Southeast Asia destinations, the Philippines is most dependent on tourism of them all. Tourism accounts for a quarter of its gross domestic product (GDP), compared with 20 percent for Thailand and 6 percent for Indonesia, according to tourism consultancy Pear Anderson.
Thus, while arrivals in Thailand and the Philippines last year shrunk at about the same le
