Tourism’s share in PHL economy dips to 8.1%
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HE tourism sector’s contribution to the Philippine economy slowed in 2025 amid a decline in inbound tourism spending, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said on Thursday. Data from the PSA showed that Tourism Direct Gross Value Added (TDGVA)—or the portion of economic output directly generated by industries serving visitors— accounted for 8.1 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2025, lower than the revised 8.7-percent share recorded in 2024. In nominal terms, TDGVA fell
by 1.4 percent year-on-year to P2.27 trillion from P2.30 trillion in the previous year. The slowdown came as inbound tourism expenditure, or spending by foreign visitors in the Philippines, declined by 6.4 percent to P698.46 billion in 2025 from P745.99 billion in 2024. Despite the drop in foreign visitor spending, domestic tourism expenditure increased by 3 percent to P3.26 trillion in 2025 from P3.16 trillion a year earlier. Outbound tourism expenditure, or spending by Filipinos traveling abroad, also posted the fastest growth among tourism expen-
diture categories at 3.5 percent, reaching P357.93 billion. The PSA said internal tourism expenditure—which combines inbound and domestic tourism spending—still grew by 1.2 percent to P3.96 trillion in 2025 from P3.91 trillion in 2024. Tourism-related employment, meanwhile, continued to expand during the year. The number of persons employed in tourism industries reached an estimated 7.70 million in 2025, up by 2.5 percent from 7.51 million in 2024. Tourism jobs accounted also for 15.7 percent of total employment
in the country last year, higher than the 15.4-percent share recorded in 2024. The PSA noted that the 2000 to 2024 series for TDGVA, gross value added of tourism industries, and tourism employment figures were revised following updates to the Philippine Tourism Statistical Classification System (PTSC) approved by the PSA Board last year. The Philippine Tourism Satellite Account, which measures the economic contribution of tourismrelated industries, is compiled annually by the PSA. Justine Xyrah Garcia
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By Justine Xyrah Garcia
HE government may now be tempering its expectations for merchandise exports as global trade headwinds continue to weigh on the country’s external sector outlook, economists said on Thursday. This came after the Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DepDev) released the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2023-2028 Midterm
Update Results Matrices, which showed that the government sharply downgraded its merchandise exports targets—covering See “Goods,” A2
‘QUIET CRACKING’ SPREADS ACROSS PHL WORKPLACES By Bless Aubrey Ogerio
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GROWING number of Filipino employees are remaining physically present at work while becoming emotionally detached and disengaged, a trend that global talent solutions firm Robert Walters warned could increasingly weigh on productivity and workplace culture. The phenomenon, known as “quiet cracking,” refers to workers who continue performing their duties but internally struggle with low motivation, pressure and disengagement, according to data released by Robert
Walters Philippines alongside its Talent Trends 2026 guide. The firm’s survey showed that 89 percent of hiring managers in the Philippines consider employee disengagement a significant issue affecting organizational productivity. At the same time, more than 38 percent of professionals said they experience quiet cracking “very often,” while nearly one in four said they encounter it occasionally. For Robert Walters Southeast Asia chief executive officer Kimberlyn Lu, the issue is often See “Cracking,” A2
IN STEP WITH ALLIES Japanese Emperor Naruhito and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. walk together during a ceremonial engagement at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Wednesday, May 27, 2026. Following them are Empress Masako and First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos. The encounter is part of a four-day state visit marked by heightened diplomatic hospitality as Japan and the Philippines move to deepen security and economic cooperation. Tokyo has signaled stronger defense alignment with Manila, including discussions on expanded arms cooperation, intelligence sharing, and joint military readiness, as both nations respond to rising geopolitical tensions in the region and concerns over China’s maritime activities. IMPERIAL HOUSEHOLD AGENCY OF JAPAN VIA AP
DA relieved over China urea exports By Ada Pelonia
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RAPS VS. JINGGOY IN FLOOD CONTROL SCANDAL Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano arrives at the Sandiganbayan on Thursday, May 28, 2026, to file plunder and graft charges against Senator Jinggoy Estrada over the multibillion-peso flood control scandal involving alleged bid-rigging, kickbacks, and anomalous infrastructure projects uncovered during Senate Blue Ribbon hearings and a Department of Justice investigation. Story in A3 Nation, “Ombudsman files plunder, graft charges vs Estrada.” NONOY LACZA
@adapelonia
HINA’S move to export urea fertilizer following earlier restrictions allows the Philippines to heave a sigh of relief, according to the Department of Agriculture (DA). This, after Reuters recently reported that China has allowed fresh urea exports following a March clampdown on outbound shipments to shield its domestic industry from price hikes triggered by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. confirmed to the BusinessMirror that some firms in the Philippines have secured urea fertilizer supplies from China.
“One company told me they have 20,000 bags,” Tiu Laurel told this newspaper on Thursday. He added that this would ease ongoing government-to-government (G2G) negotiations with China for additional fertilizer supply. “In general, the negotiations will be easier since it seems China is more open to assist,” Tiu Laurel said. Currently, the DA chief said international quotations for futures of urea fertilizer have “softened” to around $750 per metric ton (MT) from a high of $930 per MT, which could further drop to $680 per MT. “The best part here is that our supply and production cost are more secure and not as high as earlier projections with the use of
AGRICULTURE Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr.
biofertilizers,” Tiu Laurel said. Earlier, the DA said Manila is in talks with several countries to ensure steady shipments of the critical farm input. This includes China, India, and Russia. Government officials warned
that oil-driven price spikes in fertilizer pose a threat to local farm production. Latest DA projections point to palay output falling to a range of 18.6 million metric tons (MMT) to 18.8 MMT if fertilizer and pump prices continue their upward momentum. This could result in another record-high rice arrivals for the Philippines, as importation “naturally responds” to market challenges. The all-time high rice arrivals of 4.81 MMT in 2024 was driven by the severe El Niño that ravaged local plantations. Urea prices average at P2,592 per 50-kilo bag for prilled and P2,610 per bag for granular, based on a report from the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority (FPA).
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 61.5820 n JAPAN 0.3862 n UK 82.6985 n HK 7.8611 n CHINA 9.0838 n SINGAPORE 48.2428 n AUSTRALIA 43.9572 n EU 71.6260 n KOREA 0.0410 n SAUDI ARABIA 16.4109 Source: BSP (May 28, 2026)