Domestic tourism, which has been one of the few economic bright spots for the Philippines this year (click here and here), has officially been dampened by high fuel costs and the Department of Tourism (DOT) itself confirmed it lately, according to a BusinessWorld news report.
To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the BusinessWorld news report. Some parts in boldface…
DOMESTIC TOURISM has been dampened by high fuel costs stemming from the fighting in the Middle East, the Department of Tourism (DoT) said.
Supervising Tourism Operations Officer Ryan R. Carlos said in a webinar on Monday that higher fuel prices have pushed airfares higher.
“We cannot deny that inflation is also one of the factors,” Mr. Carlos said, pointing to soaring prices of air travel, accommodations, and various tourism-related expenditures.
Inflation accelerated to 7.2% in September from 6.1% in August, bringing the nine-month average to 5.4%.
The Civil Aeronautics Board set the passenger fuel surcharge at Level 16 for Oct. 16-31, down one notch from the first half of the month.
Under Level 16, airlines may collect fuel surcharges ranging from P525 to P1,535 for domestic flights and between P1,733.76 and P12,891.29 for international flights, depending on distance.
To address rising costs, Mr. Ryan said the DoT has been partnering with various travel associations to help bring down the costs of tourism-related goods and services. He said the department has also asked its regional offices to develop affordable itineraries.
Domestic tourism propped up the industry last year, according to the Key Indicators of the Household Survey on Domestic Visitors report.
Of the 84.38 million individuals aged 15 years and over, 74.5% took at least one domestic trip in 2025. Female domestic travelers accounted for 50.5% of the total, compared with 31.11 million, or 49.5%, for males.
“By age group, domestic travelers are much more concentrated in the younger age group, particularly in the range of 13 to 54 years,” Assistant National Statistician Genelyn Ma. F. Sarte said, adding that the highest percentage of travelers belonged to the 25 to 29 age group.
Let me end this post by asking you readers: What is your reaction to this recent development? Do you think domestic tourism numbers by the end of this year will end up being lower than in 2025? If you were able to go out of town for vacation here in the Philippines over the past six months, how much did you spend on travel? Do you think 2027 will be a tougher year for domestic tourism?
You may answer in the comments below. If you prefer to answer privately, you may do so by sending me a direct message online.
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