Tighter tourist security eyed amid South Korea arrivals decline

The Department of Tourism (DoT) said it aims to strengthen security efforts for foreign visitors, following the decline in South Korea tourist arrivals.

“All our numbers are going up, top 10 is going up, Korea is the only one declining,” Tourism Secretary Maria Bernardita “Dita” Angara-Mathay told reporters in mixed Filipino and English during an interview on Friday.

Security concerns are among the factors that led South Korea to lose its spot as the country’s top source market.

“Of course there is, everyone has [concerns],” she said in Filipino when asked if security has been a reason for the decline.

Over 200 criminal incidents involving Korean nationals were recorded by the South Korean embassy in May 2025. The crimes prompted the embassy to caution its citizens in the Philippines to limit outdoor activities due to security risks.

The DoT reported that from January to May, South Korea arrivals accounted for 501,789 visitors, down by 9.56% from the 554,855 of the same period last year.

In an effort to ease concerns among tourists, the DoT is considering partnering with the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).

“What I wanted to happen is, the LGU (local government unit), hopefully, I don’t want to announce it early, but Jonvic Remulla is going to have something to protect what he calls our 10 jewels,” Ms. Angara-Mathay said.

“There will be about 10 police, plainclothes men, and we will also use apps for faster response,” she added.

The agency also plans to offer travel bundles, including transport, hotel, airfare, and food, to regain South Korean tourists and cut travel costs.

“South Korea’s population is getting smaller, but they’re travelers,” the tourism chief said. “ Our slot gets taken by Vietnam and other ASEAN countries because the cost to go there is only about half of ours.”

“We’ll try rediscovering new places and bundling it so it will be cheaper… It becomes predictable,” she added.

The DoT has reported visitor arrivals reached 2,955,014, up by 6.16% from the same period last year. The US led the list with 591,569 tourist arrivals as of Thursday. — Almira Louise S. Martinez