Can travelers reach where hotels are going?
Easy access brings visitors, as India and China have shown. When the Philippines eased visa rules and added direct flights, arrivals from both markets grew fast. So far this year, Chinese and Indian arrivals are up 93 percent and 33 percent, respectively.
Hotel developers are following the same logic, with about 32,000 new rooms, or 70 percent of all the rooms the private sector plans to build, located in areas with direct international flights.
Three gateways lead the way, together holding more than 23,000 planned rooms: Metro Manila with 11,130; Cebu City and Lapu-Lapu City with 8,482 combined; and Clark and New Clark with 3,727.
Direct flights
But gateways don’t all connect to the same places. Once Air France resumes its route, Metro Manila will be the only one with a direct flight to Europe, and it’s also the only gateway with a direct flight to India, though IndiGo has applied to fly to Cebu.
Other destinations with hotels in the pipeline have even fewer links, with Boracay and Panglao, for example, connecting only within Asia.
The map also shows gaps: Laguindingan, Zamboanga, Laoag and Puerto Princesa have international airports but no direct international flights, so travelers can’t fly straight to the destinations developers are betting on. If direct routes start or return, these cities could draw far more visitors.
Direct flights to Puerto Princesa, for instance, would let travelers skip Manila, Cebu and Clark, making the trip shorter, simpler and cheaper.
Bringing long haul markets closer
The Philippines’ top 10 source markets are the base we need to protect and grow. Spreading across many markets—rather than relying on any single one—better protects us from swings like those we saw this year.
With efforts to grow arrivals from South Korea and China already under way, the next question is how to grow arrivals from Europe, led by the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Spain and Italy, and encourage repeat visits. For these long haul visitors, easy access matters most.
That’s why the Department of Tourism’s (DOT) #FlyViaCebu campaign is a good step. Cebu connects to Singapore and the Middle East, opening paths for European visitors. Its central location means shorter turboprop flights from Mactan to island destinations.
Keeping domestic travelers moving
Domestic travelers, the backbone of Philippine tourism, deserve the same attention.
According to the DOT, domestic tourism earns four times what foreign travelers bring in. Many of these travelers start their trips in Metro Manila, home to about 14 million people.
Since the transfer of turboprop flights from NAIA to Clark was completed in March 2026, El Nido and Coron have seen lower occupancy than last year. The move isn’t necessarily the only cause, since higher fuel costs and fewer travelers passing through the Middle East may also play a part, but it has clearly made the trip longer.
A traveler now needs about two extra hours, or three to four with traffic, to reach Clark for a 50-minute flight. Higher fares and transfer costs add to the burden, hitting group travelers and corporate events hardest.
Decongesting NAIA is an important goal, and the next step is to gather data on how the move affects island tourism and travel friction. With that data, we can look at what works best for the whole industry, especially for the workers who depend on it.
Where to start: Palawan, Bohol and Siargao
Palawan, Bohol and Siargao are among our strongest island destinations. They’re the ones most affected by long, multi-step trips.
Focusing on these three, by adding direct international access and cutting travel friction, could have a big effect on arrivals and, more importantly, on spending.
We can’t fix every route at once, so we should start where the payoff is clearest. The lesson from India and China is simple: when access gets easier, visitors come. Our hotels are being built, and now the routes need to follow.
The author is a Senior Manager of Hotels, Tourism, and Leisure at Leechiu Property Consultants Inc.
