Bohol links decline in South Korean visitors to security issues, high costs

By Almira Louise S. Martinez, Reporter

BOHOL, one of the top tourist destinations in the Philippines, is experiencing a drop in visitors from South Korea due to security concerns and travel costs, according to the province’s tourism council.

“One of their issues is really security, and also cost,” Lucas M. Nunag, co-chairman of the provincial tourism council of Bohol, told ����ý in an interview on Monday.

“They say that there are cheaper destinations in the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) region, particularly Vietnam,” he added. 

Although the decline can be observed nationwide, Mr. Nunag noted that it is more pronounced in Bohol.

“The whole country is suffering from a drop in arrivals from Korea,” he said. “That’s the same story with Bohol, more so in Bohol, because we now have Korean establishments and direct flights from Korea to Panglao International Airport.”

Mr. Nunag added that seven daily flights from Korea to Bohol went down to three to four flights.

“I think a large factor is the fact that there are economic issues within Korea itself; they don’t have as much disposable income to spend on tourism.”

The Department of Tourism (DoT) said during the House committee on appropriations hearing that the decline in Korean tourists is happening across Southeast Asia.

Tourism Secretary Ma. Esperanza Christina G. Frasco said that South Korea arrivals in Thailand decreased to -17%, Singapore at -2%, Cambodia at -7%, and Vietnam at -2%.

She added that the DoT acknowledges the safety concerns of tourists, which led the department to coordinate with Malacañang for the formation of a national task force on tourist safety.

Over 8,000 tourist police nationwide were also trained under the Tourist-Oriented Police for Community Order and Protection (TOPCOP) program.

“We are also working with the Korean embassy as well as the Korean community to express that we are willing to collaborate to ensure that we give priority to our guests, including tourists,” Ms. Frasco said.

According to the Tourism chief, the Philippines has so far welcomed over 880,000 South Korean tourists, as of Sept. 1.

OTHER FOREIGN VISITORS
Amid the decline in South Korean visitors, Bohol plans to establish relationships with other countries.

“We’re trying to work on sisterhood arrangements with Bali because their main source of tourism is Australia,” Mr. Nunag said. “We’re looking at the possibility of linking up with their operator so they could bring the (tourists) to the Philippines.”

“If the Australians come to Bohol, they will also visit the other destinations,” he added.

Bohol is also working on “regional circuits” to promote other neighboring tourist spots within the area.

“It’s not just Bohol that we would like to promote, it’s also the other destinations in the area, like Siquijor, Camiguin, because we have connectivity by sea and air,” he said.

“We could even link to Mindanao because the operator of Panglao airport is the same company that operates Laguindingan airport in Cagayan de Oro,” he added.

In June 2025, Aboitiz InfraCapital, Inc. (AIC) took over the operations of Bohol Panglao International Airport. The AIC aims to increase the airport’s capacity to 2.5 million annual passengers from 2 million within the first two years and further increase annual passenger capacity to 3.9 million by 2030.