While foreign tourist arrivals will unlikely meet the 7.7 million arrivals targeted by the Department of Tourism (DOT), it is on track to exceed last year’s 5.5 million arrivals, according to Leechiu Property Consultants (LPC).
During its Q3 PH Property Market Update, LPC Hotels, Tourism and Leisure Director Alfred Lay said foreign tourist arrivals in the first three quarters of the year remained at 28 percent below pre-pandemic levels registering at 4.4 million, compared to the 6.1 million posted in the same period in 2019.
Lay, however, noted that the foreign tourist arrivals in the first three quarters of the year are already 10 percent higher than the 4.0 million arrivals in the same period last year.
“Based on that projection, we should surpass the pandemic arrivals, pre-pandemic arrival sometime in 2026,” Lay said.
Despite the tourism sector still making its way to towards recovery, optimism is still seen on the horizon as seen in the significant amount of hotel developments across the country in the pipeline for the next few years.
Figures from 2024 Philippine Accommodation Pipeline Report recently released by LPC and the Philippine Hotel Owners Association (PHOA), hotel developers have committed P250 billion worth of investments for future hotels. This covers 158 new projects which will add 40,048 room keys and will generate 57,000 hotel jobs.
Luzon accounts for 50 percent of this pipeline with a concentration of new hotels in Clark and the National Capital Region.
This is followed by the Visayas with a 42 percent share of the pipeline, mainly driven by leisure tourism in the areas of Boracay, Mactan Island and Panglao Island.
Mindanao holds the remaining 8 percent of the pipeline with upcoming hotels in the key areas of Davao City, Cagayan de Oro City, and Siargao.
Meanwhile, LPC noted that international hospitality brands have a high market penetration in the Philippines with 42 percent of all keys underdevelopment.
Among the leading international operators by pipeline keys are Accor with 3,433 room keys in the pipeline, Ascott with 3,000 keys, Radisson Hotels with 2,988 keys, Marriott International with 2,771 keys and Dusit International with 812 keys.
“And there are still many properties that the international brands have signed but perhaps haven’t announced yet,” Lay said.
“When you’re talking about international brands, it’s hotel developers in the Philippines working with these international brands to attract a more international client base, and typically a more upscale client base,” he added.
Asked what is attracting international brands to come to the Philippines, Lay explained that country is still a growth market in terms of tourism.
“We’re in the very early stages of our tourism journey. There’s a lot of opportunity here. We’re still a growth market in the tourism world. They’re looking for growth, so they come here,” Lay said.
The LPC director cited the country’s excellent demographics as one growth driver of the tourism industry.
“Our domestic consumption is very strong. And so, what I expect to see is that although international arrivals may not have come back, we do expect to see a very, very strong figures for domestic travel, and that’s a really big positive because many countries are very envious of the domestic travel proposition that the Philippines has,” Lay said.