Inbound tourism spending in the Philippines rose 16.4% in pesos and 4.8% in US dollars since 2019 — with 22% fewer visitors
Inbound tourism expenditure went from ₱600.0 billion in 2019 to ₱698.5 billion in 2025 while arrivals fell from 8.26 million to 6.48 million. Because the peso weakened, the dollar reading of the same figures is much flatter.
How much did visitors spend in the Philippines?
Inbound tourism expenditure was ₱698.46 billion in 2025, against ₱600,008.29 million in 2019 (Philippine Statistics Authority, Philippine Tourism Satellite Accounts). That is a 16.4% rise in pesos.
In US dollars it is a 4.8% rise.
How much did visitors spend in the Philippines?
Inbound tourism expenditure (₱ m)
Shared linear scale from zero. Selected entries from the table below. Its dates, units, definitions and limitations still apply.
| Year | Visitor arrivals | Inbound tourism expenditure (₱ m) | Same as US$ m | Rate (₱/US$) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 5,360,682 | 309,226.81 | 6,793 | 45.52 |
| 2019 | 8,260,913 | 600,008.29 | 11,585 | 51.79 |
| 2023 | 5,663,166 | 697,493.90 | 12,536 | 55.64 |
| 2024 | 6,435,438 | 699,977.93 | 12,217 | 57.30 |
| 2025 | 6,484,060 | 698,460 | 12,145 | 57.51 |
The pattern here is the one the peso creates. Between 2019 and 2025 the currency went from an annual average of 51.79 to 57.51 per US dollar, so a peso total that grew by a sixth grew by a twentieth in dollars. Meanwhile arrivals fell 21.5%.
The US dollar column is a CapsWindow conversion at BIS annual average rates; PSA publishes the tourism satellite account in pesos only. The 2025 value is the rounded headline from the release — the machine-readable OpenSTAT series stops at 2024. The 2024 figure has two vintages: ₱699,977.93 million as first published and ₱745.99 billion as restated in the 2025 release; the first is used here so that the whole column comes from one vintage. Arrivals to 2021 are ranked by country of residence and from 2022 by country of citizenship, which is a break in the series.
Spending per visitor: a calculation, not a publication
PSA publishes no per-visitor expenditure series. Thirty-three PTSA tables cover expenditure by product, gross value added of tourism industries, employment and capital formation; none is per visitor.
Dividing the two published series gives:
| Year | Expenditure ÷ arrivals (₱) | Same as US$ |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 57,684 | 1,267 |
| 2019 | 72,632 | 1,402 |
| 2023 | 123,163 | 2,214 |
| 2024 | 108,769 | 1,898 |
| 2025 | 107,720 | 1,873 |
This is our arithmetic, not an official statistic, and the 2019 to 2025 change reads as +48.3% in pesos and +33.6% in US dollars. The gap between those two is the peso’s depreciation and nothing else.
Both the numerator and the denominator have caveats. Arrivals include non-resident Filipinos and same-day visitors, and the residence-to-citizenship basis change sits inside the series. Expenditure is a national-accounts construct, not a balance-of-payments travel credit and not a raw survey total, so it is not directly comparable with Indonesia's or Vietnam's receipts. A separate Department of Tourism figure of ₱712 billion for 2024 covers 1 January to 15 December only and is on a different basis; it is not used here.
Where the currency question is settled by the source
Taiwan’s tourism authority publishes spending per visitor in both currencies in one table. Between 2024 and 2025 that figure rose 0.86% in US dollars and fell 2.13% in New Taiwan dollars. Nobody converted anything; both numbers are official.
Japan is the largest version of the same effect. Spending per visitor rose from ¥158,531 in 2019 to ¥228,782 in 2025 — 44.3% in yen, 5.1% in dollars.
Hong Kong is the control. Its currency is pegged, so per-overnight-visitor spending fell 5.4% in Hong Kong dollars and 4.9% in US dollars over the same period. The two columns agree because the exchange rate did not move.
For the Philippines the currency effect sits on top of an unusual arrivals pattern: spending recovered past its 2019 level while arrivals did not, which mathematically lifts any per-visitor figure. Length of stay, the mix of source markets and the share of non-resident Filipinos all feed into that as well. This paragraph is interpretation; the figures in the tables are observations from published statistics.
The same comparison across Asia
| Market | Published measure | Period | Local currency | US dollars |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | spend per visitor per trip (yen) | 2019→2025 | +44.3% | +5.1% |
| Taiwan | spend per visitor per trip (both currencies published) | 2019→2025 | +6.8% | +5.9% |
| Taiwan | same measure | 2024→2025 | −2.1% | +0.9% |
| Thailand | spend per person per day (baht) | 2024→2025 | +0.8% | +8.1% |
| Hong Kong | spend per overnight visitor (HK$) | 2019→2025 | −5.4% | −4.9% |
| Indonesia | spend per visit (US dollars only published) | 2019→2025 | +28.9% | +10.6% |
| Vietnam | spend per international tourist (US dollars only published) | 2019→2024 | +6.0% | +1.1% |
The Philippines has no row here, and neither do Singapore or Malaysia, because none of the three publishes a per-visitor measure. The calculated figures earlier in this article are deliberately kept out of this table. The measures in the rows that are here are not on one definition: Thailand's is per day, the rest are per trip. The US dollar column for Japan, Thailand and Hong Kong, and the local-currency column for Indonesia and Vietnam, are CapsWindow conversions at BIS annual averages; Taiwan's two columns are both official.
What to check when reading these numbers
Check the currency. Expenditure up 16.4% and expenditure up 4.8% describe the same total. Which one matters depends on whether the question is about domestic revenue or about the Philippines’ price position abroad.
Check the vintage. The 2024 expenditure figure exists in two versions six percentage points apart. Mixing vintages inside one series produces a change that is really a revision.
Check whether a per-visitor figure is published or assembled. Here it is assembled, and that is stated.
Check the arrivals basis. The residence-to-citizenship change in 2022 and the inclusion of non-resident Filipinos both affect the denominator of any per-visitor calculation.
Questions & answers
How much did visitors spend in the Philippines in 2025?
₱698.46 billion, on the Philippine Statistics Authority's tourism satellite account. The comparable 2024 figure is ₱699,977.93 million as first published, restated to ₱745.99 billion in the 2025 release, and 2019 was ₱600,008.29 million.
Does the Philippines publish spending per visitor?
No. Thirty-three PTSA tables were reviewed and none carries a per-visitor expenditure line. The figures in this article divide inbound tourism expenditure by visitor arrivals, which is our calculation and not an official statistic.
Why do the peso and dollar figures differ so much?
Because the peso weakened from an annual average of 51.79 per US dollar in 2019 to 57.51 in 2025. Inbound expenditure therefore rose 16.4% in pesos and 4.8% in US dollars over the same period.
How many visitors arrived in 2025?
6,484,060 international visitor arrivals, against 6,435,438 in 2024 and 8,260,913 in 2019. Note that arrivals up to 2021 were ranked by country of residence and from 2022 by country of citizenship.