DOT chief fires back at lawmakers: Tourism delivered amid underfunding

Metro Manila, Philippines - Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco on Wednesday hit back at lawmakers who accused the Department of Tourism (DOT) of underdelivering despite high-profile campaigns, saying the agency has achieved measurable gains with a substantially reduced budget.

Frasco made the remarks during a press conference days after the State of the Nation Address (SONA). Deputy Speaker Paolo Ortega and Rep. Jude Acidre questioned the low international arrivals despite expensive global promotions.

“These numbers tell a story. We are attracting fewer tourists, and those who do come are spending less,” Ortega said earlier this week. Acidre said the silence of the SONA on tourism was a sign: “The sector is not delivering, and the DOT needs to do better.”

“Perhaps the wording that our good congressmen should have used is not ‘underperforming and underfunded,’ but simply ‘underfunded,’” Frasco said.

She said that in 2024, Congress cut the tourism promotion budget by a hefty 83% from P1.2 billion to P200 million. This was further halved in the current budget.

“Congress holds the power of the purse, but when that power is used to defund and punish a top economic driver like tourism, it directly harms our country and our people,” Frasco said.

Despite the promotional budget cut, the secretary said tourism generated P3.86 trillion in revenues and directly employed 6.75 million Filipinos — with nearly 10 million more in indirect and induced jobs.

“Let’s talk about performance,” Frasco asserted. “Trillions generated. Millions employed. No ghosts. No waste. Just results.”

She added that with just P200 million, the return on investment was over 1,900,000%, with 5.95 million international arrivals recorded.

Missed target

Frasco acknowledged the missed target of 7.7 million tourist arrivals this year but attributed it to the suspension of the e-visa system for Chinese nationals and geopolitical and weather-related challenges.

“We have to be realistic about the prospects, considering all of the circumstances surrounding tourism competitiveness,” she said, citing severe weather systems and a “completely liberalized visa regime” in other Association of Southeast Asian Nations members.

China, once a top source of tourists, only accounted for just over 300,000 visitors in 2024 — far from the anticipated two million.

Frasco also addressed concerns about peace and security on arrivals. She cited strengthened cooperation with the Department of Interior and Local Government and the police, with over 8,000 trained tourist police and an active multilingual tourist assistance call center.

“We’ve proposed the creation of a National Tourism Task Force to consolidate inter-agency efforts to ensure safety,” Frasco said, noting appreciation from the South Korean embassy for security measures.

Looking forward, she said the DOT is targeting emerging markets like India, Europe, and the Middle East to diversify the visitor base.

Politics, timing

Frasco hinted at political motivations behind the timing of criticisms, suggesting they may be tied to the recent declaration of her husband, Cebu 5th District Rep. Duke Frasco, as an independent in the House of Representatives.

“The timing of the remarks from the good gentlemen from the House of Representatives is quite suspect,” she said. “They were made only a day after my husband declared independence.”

While she said she does not take the attacks personally, Frasco noted that criticisms reflect on the entire tourism workforce: “When you say the sector is not delivering, you’re talking about over six million Filipinos. That statement is a judgment on the service and sacrifice of tourism workers across the nation.”