South Korean Tourist Arrivals to PHL May Surpass Pre-Pandemic Levels in 2025

The Philippines is poised to welcome a record-breaking number of South Korean tourists in 2025, potentially surpassing the pre-pandemic peak of nearly 2 million, according to Quezon City Rep. Marvin Rillo.

“We look forward to a very large number of South Korean tourists arriving in the Philippines in 2025,” said Rillo, vice chairperson of the House committee on tourism.

“In fact, it is highly likely that in 2025, the number of South Korean visitors to the Philippines will surpass the pre-pandemic level of almost two million.”

South Korea has long been the Philippines’ largest source of foreign visitors, with 1,435,571 South Koreans arriving from January to November 2024.

This figure marks a 10.45% increase from the 1,299,697 arrivals during the same period in 2023, based on Department of Tourism (DOT) data.

South Koreans accounted for 29.18% of all foreign tourists visiting the country during the first 11 months of 2024.

Rillo emphasized the economic benefits of this continued influx, particularly for the tourism sector’s recovery post-pandemic.

He highlighted its potential to create new job opportunities in accommodation, transport, food and beverage, and entertainment industries.

“Our sense is that South Koreans will continue to visit the Philippines in droves as long as they find it economically attractive to spend their holidays here,” Rillo said.

The tourism industry has shown significant recovery overall, with 4,918,418 foreign tourist arrivals recorded from January to November 2024.

This represents a 9.56% rise compared to 4,489,059 in the same period the previous year.

The DOT figures exclude 432,439 overseas Filipinos who visited the country during the same period.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, 1,989,322 South Korean tourists visited the Philippines in 2019, underscoring the country’s popularity among this market.

Last month, Fitch Solutions’ BMI forecasted consistent growth in the Philippines’ foreign tourist arrivals, projecting that numbers will reach 9.7 million by 2028.

Rillo also downplayed concerns that South Korea’s brief imposition of martial law on Dec. 3, which was lifted after six hours, would affect the appetite of South Koreans to travel to the Philippines.

The Philippine government continues to capitalize on its strong tourism appeal to sustain the sector’s momentum, reinforcing its vital role in driving economic growth and job creation.