What rebound? Tourism numbers in Philippines only 55 - 60 percent of pre-Covid 2019 levels.

[macaroni21]

 

[forrestreid]

From watching the video, it seems the sharp drop in Chinese tourists from 2019 to now is the main issue. Safety concerns might play a small role, but the report points much more strongly to the current tensions between the Philippines and China.

That part made me think of what @Moses previously claimed here—that Chinese tourists aren’t heavily influenced by their government’s stance (he mentioned this in the context of Chinese tourism to Japan). But this video suggests they might be more affected than he thinks. To be fair, the suspension of the e‑visa program was probably the biggest factor in this case. It’ll be interesting to see how quickly Chinese tourism rebounds once the system is running again.

Speaking for myself: I’ve used Bangkok as a base for trips to Malaysia, Singapore, Laos, Bali, and Cambodia over the last 12 years, and I’ve considered the Philippines a few times. But it always felt like poor value, mostly because of logistics.

I was more interested in Boracay or Cebu than Manila, but it seemed awkward that you more or less have to fly into Manila anyway. I did consider spending time in Manila, and Intramuros (the old city)  looked interesting, but the difficulty of getting around the city made it less appealing overall. On top of that, finding a reasonably timed flight from Manila to Caticlan (for Boracay) was more awkward and more expensive than I expected.

If I had heard that there were good bars for guys available for hire people or a solid massage scene, I might have overlooked those issues—but from what I remember, even that side of things seemed a bit inconvenient. I know people who have went reported that the apps are good, but I prefer to meet people in a venue when I am on holiday.

[macaroni21]

Two other possible reasons for the sharp drop in Chinese visitors: a downturn in the Chinese economy the past few years since the pandemic, and bad reports from those who have gone to the Philippines previously (which I can totally understand).

Having been to the Philippines a few times over the past 30 years, I think the traffic and transport situation has become impossible. In Manila, anytime you're on the road even in a Grabcar, it's gridlock all the way to 12 midnight. From the airport, just getting to your hotel is already a nigthmare. The city has no easy-to-understand public transport system except for a few metro lines that are decrepit, terribly crowded, and seldom go where you want to go.

Hotels are overpriced. 

Food offerings are also mediocre. Whereas in many other Southeast Asian countries, there are plenty of cheap and midpriced places that serve tasty, good food, in the Philippines, the food quality is much poorer -- I think the local cultural expectations of what "food" should be are not demanding enough. 

Most important of all, for folks like us, 

On 1/27/2026 at 5:00 AM, forrestreid said:

If I had heard that there were good bars for guys available for hire people or a solid massage scene, I might have overlooked those issues—but from what I remember, even that side of things seemed a bit inconvenient. I know people who have went reported that the apps are good, but I prefer to meet people in a venue when I am on holiday.

Agreed. There are "massage" shops but again, the subpar standard of facilities, the often lackdaisical service quality, and the pain of getting through the traffic to reach the shops.... they're not worth the trouble. 

Indeed, there are nice places outside of Manila, but most of them are beach places. Unless you're a beach person, the Philippines doesn't have much to offer. As the video also says, you'd have to go back to Ninoy Aquino Airport (never something to look forward to) and catch a domestic flight to whichever domestic destination you want to go to. Or you could take an overnight ferry and risk drowning. Furthermore, the gay industry hardly exists outside Manila.

[Olddaddy]

Boracay has a few gay bars and gay  guesthouses look up roger 

I always get free sex in Philippines 

Now in recent months the Philippines has changed their law and arrested foreigners for vlogging 

I see another yesterday black guy from Arizona arrested 

Last week it was YouTuber Prolife who is now in a Cebu jail after vlogging 

A few months ago it was famous YouTuber Vitaly who just served 9 months in a Phillipines prison 

So that may be a reason ,no vlogging now allowed 

A member on here who lives in Jomtien complex but no longer posts ( who can blame him) is very well versed on the Philippines and a bloody good bloke !!! Bkkmfj 🙏🏿🙏🏿

[Olddaddy]

Just watching YouTube Asia now who does news on Philippines everyday 

Reports that the Philippines health department is considering HIV tests for foreign tourists coming into Philippines 

I don't think it's a bad thing but obviously discriminatory 

[jamiebee]

Aside from the limited spots for fun 😉😉, the problem with underdeveloped mass transportation, ever so choosy drivers in Ride-Hailing apps like Grab and others, Problem back home in the Philippines is that it is more expensive even for locals to travel other part of the Philippines than international flights like say to Taiwan, Thailand or other neighbors in the SE Asia. 😑 Including accommodation costs, like AirBnBs and Hotels.

Especially Hotels! I am working in a Hotel as a Front Office Manager in a 4star Hotel and rates in the Philippines are not worth the money for product/service they are offering.

I haven't stayed more that 7 days a year back home since 2023. 

Oh and The vloggers I've seen in the news got arrested, jailed and will be deported were those blatantly disrespectful calling the locals monkeys and potentially causing some harm pranks like vitaly did.

But Vitaly has plenty money and had it easy in prison that's how corrupt the current Philippine system is right now.

[Olddaddy]

Yes hotels in Philippines particularly Manila were expensive compared to Bangkok 

 

[PeterRS]

On 1/27/2026 at 4:00 AM, forrestreid said:

From watching the video, it seems the sharp drop in Chinese tourists from 2019 to now is the main issue. Safety concerns might play a small role, but the report points much more strongly to the current tensions between the Philippines and China.

That part made me think of what @Moses previously claimed here—that Chinese tourists aren’t heavily influenced by their government’s stance (he mentioned this in the context of Chinese tourism to Japan). But this video suggests they might be more affected than he thinks.

To be fair, what @Moses wrote in a post on November 17 was this -

"I have about a dozen Chinese friends of various ages, from 20 to 50, and even more acquaintances. The words "cheap," "sale," and "discount" have a magical effect on each of them. Therefore, unless Xi imposes specific fees, taxes, bans, or restrictions, such as reducing the number of flights to Japan, the Chinese won't care about the government's recommendations, because they can travel to Japan cheaply now."

In effect, President Xi has imposed quite a few mandatory restrictions on travel to Japan including cutting 49 air routes between the two countries for the current month. Last month that accounted for 47.2% of all flights, up 7.8% from December. In an act of reverse diplomacy. China has also recalled Tokyo's two pandas. Japan now has no pandas for the first time since 1972. These acts were imposed as a result of the Japanese Prime Minister's public comments on the Taiwan issue, something her predecessors had wisely avoided.

There seems to be no such government to government problem between China and The Philippines, apart from a multi year dispute over the Spratley Islands. Reports I have read seem to indicate that Chinese outbound tourism has really picked up since covid. Fears for their safety is one reason why Thailand and The Philippines are falling down in the travel charts. Extreme poverty in The Philippines is another comment on social media. On the other hand, Vietnam is seen as very safe and is enjoying a major surge.

But those in Thailand especially have to realise that outbound tourism from China is gradually changing. A recent outbound survey by the China Outbound and Inbound Travel Market (COITM) on the 2026 outlook among Chinese travel agents shows a high percentage, at 66.7 per cent, naming high-quality and niche in-depth tours as the type of products their customers are most interested in over the next three years. The cheap trips to parts of South East Asia that sustained the industry will factor less and less into the minds of Chinese travellers. According to Qing Qinghui, COITM founder and project director -

A high proportion, 75.6 per cent, of Gen Z travellers seeking personalised and in-depth experiences was identified as the “main driving force for the development of the outbound market this year”, Qing commented. This was followed by “affluent and time-rich” seniors, at 67.26 per cent, and “new middle class” families emphasising quality and experience, at 48.81 per cent. 

Top destinations now incude parts of South East Asia, South Korea, Australlia, New Zealand and, Qing added somewhat surprisingly, South America. Europe and North America are also falling down the rankings. Naturally there will always be less affluent families desperate to find a beach or other travel experience and Thailand and the Philippines will aways gain some of that market. But it is falling.

https://www.tokyoweekender.com/japan-life/news-and-opinion/chinese-airlines-cancel-flights-on-49-routes-to-japan/

https://www.ttgasia.com/2026/02/06/chinese-agents-eye-niche-and-high-quality-tours-for-2026/