Asia's leading beach destination sees 9% rise in tourist arrivals in January

By Hoang Vu February 10, 2025 | 06:47 pm PT

A surfing rental worker waits for customers along the beach on Boracay in the Philippines. Photo by Reuters

The Philippines, recognized as Asia's leading beach destination at the 2024 World Travel Awards, welcomed 627,000 tourists in January, marking a 9.1% year-on-year increase.

South Korea remained the top source of inbound tourists, with 162,000 arrivals, despite a nearly 7% decline from the previous year, according to the Department of Tourism.

The U.S. ranked second, followed by Australia, Japan, and Canada.

China dropped out of the Philippines' top five visitor sources, recording 31,086 arrivals in January, down 7.2% year-on-year.

With a coastline stretching over 36,000 kilometers, the Philippines was crowned "Asia's Leading Beach Destination" at the 2024 World Travel Awards.

Other Southeast Asian countries saw a strong start to 2025.

Vietnam recorded nearly 2.1 million foreign arrivals in January, a 36.9% increase year-on-year and its highest monthly total ever.

Thailand welcomed 3.7 million international visitors, up 22.2% from the same period last year.