PHL tops Southeast Asia in U.S. tourist arrivals, fueled by direct flights and Filipino American ties

By Cristina DC Pastor

The Philippines is emerging as the leading Southeast Asian destination for travelers from the United States, according to officials of the Philippine Department of Tourism (PDOT) in the U.S.

They presented the following figures from January to May 2026:

Philippines: 531,859 arrivals

Thailand: 471,254

Vietnam: 445,813

Singapore: 317,074

Indonesia: 162,808

Cambodia: 91,020

Malaysia: 2026 data not available

The achievement reflects both sustained promotional efforts and the country’s growing accessibility through direct flights, they explained.

“We at the PDOT offices in the U.S. are very delighted that the Philippines ranks first in terms of the number of tourist arrivals to our country vis-à-vis Southeast Asia,” Tourism Director Maria Corazon Jorda Apo announced in a briefing with FilAm journalists in New York City. “Our team efforts and the assistance and support we get from the Philippine Embassy and the various Philippine consulates in the U.S. have paid off.”

According to Jorda Apo, one of the biggest advantages is direct air connectivity between the United States and Manila, particularly through Philippine Airlines (PAL). PAL currently operates 46 nonstop flights per week from key U.S. gateways to Manila: seven from Guam, five from Honolulu, four from New York’s JFK, 18 from Los Angeles, seven from San Francisco and five from Seattle.

That network gives the Philippines an advantage over some of its closest competitors, particularly Thailand and Vietnam, which do not have comparable nonstop service from major U.S. cities to their respective capitals.

“Having direct air access from the U.S. provides our target tourists the convenience of flying to the Philippines,” she explained. “This is a primary reason for the Philippines topping U.S. arrivals among Southeast Asian countries.”

Singapore, meanwhile, has 43 weekly flights from the U.S. Yet according to tourism data compiled from the respective tourism websites of Southeast Asian countries, Singapore recorded 317,074 U.S. arrivals from January through May 2026, placing it fourth among Southeast Asian destinations in U.S. arrivals.

The Philippines’s popularity in the U.S. is sometimes attributed to the country’s large Filipino American population and the longstanding relationship between the two countries.

Tourism officials, however, say the picture is more complicated.

Jorda Apo and Tourism Attaché Gerry Panga pointed out that many Filipinos in the United States were actually born in the country and are therefore Americans by birth.

“They have grown up with American education, culture, values and travel preferences.” Not every American of Filipino descent necessarily identifies as Filipino, the officials noted.

This distinction is important in understanding the numbers, they said.

The Philippines estimates that there are more than 2.1 million first-generation Filipinoimmigrants in the United States, along with more than 2.3 million U.S.-born Filipinos who belong to the second or third generation.

And the U.S. visitors arriving in the Philippines are not exclusively Filipino. Based on Philippine Bureau of Immigration data on U.S. tourist arrivals that they cited when interviewed by The FilAm, they said — 53% were former Filipinos who had become naturalized American citizens, 10% were Philippine passport holders and/or green-card holders, and 37% were U.S.-born or other American travelers.

In 2025, the Philippines recorded 1,126,499 tourist arrivals from the United States, representing 19.21% of total international arrivals. The figures underscore that the American market extends well beyond the Filipino diaspora.

Vacation remains the biggest draw

So what are Americans actually coming to the Philippines to experience?

Survey data from the Department of Tourism’s January to May period shows that the overwhelming majority of U.S. visitors — 62% — came for holiday, pleasure or vacation. Another 21% came to visit friends and relatives.

Among the country’s destinations, Cebu ranked first, followed by Boracay and Palawan.

For American tourists, the appeal includes the country’s beaches, warm weather and diverse leisure opportunities. Sun-and-beach holidays, entertainment, leisure and shopping are among the activities popular with visitors, the officials said.

The numbers suggest that while family and heritage remain important factors, the Philippines is increasingly being viewed simply as a vacation destination.