Tourism contributed more than 8 percent to the Philippine economy in 2025, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on Thursday.

The PSA’s Tourism Satellite Account report showed that Tourism Direct Gross Value Added (TDGVA) — or the gross value added generated by industries directly providing goods and services to visitors — was estimated at PHP2.27 trillion, accounting for 8.1 percent of the economy last year.

The figure was slightly lower than the PHP2.30 trillion recorded in 2024.

The Tourism Satellite Account measures visitor expenditures on accommodation, food and beverage services, transport, travel agencies and reservation services, entertainment and recreation, tourism-related shopping and other tourism-related services.

Among the forms of tourism expenditure, outbound tourism posted the highest growth at 3.5 percent, reaching PHP357.93 billion.

Domestic tourism followed with a 3 percent increase, rising from PHP3.16 trillion in 2024 to PHP3.26 trillion in 2025.

Inbound tourism, however, declined by 6.4 percent, falling from PHP745.99 billion in 2024 to PHP698.46 billion last year.

Internal tourism, which combines inbound and domestic tourism expenditures, grew by 1.2 percent from PHP3.91 trillion in 2024 to PHP3.96 trillion in 2025.

Employment in tourism industries also increased to 7.70 million in 2025 from 7.51 million in 2024.

The share of tourism employment to total employment in the country was recorded at 15.7 percent in 2025. (PNA)