Asia's leading beach destination sees 28% surge in travel searches from India

By Hoang Vu June 16, 2025 | 06:33 pm PT

A sand sculpture is seen along the beach in Boracay, the Philippines, April 25, 2018. Photo by Reuters

Travel searches for the Philippines from India jumped 28% after the Southeast Asian nation granted visa-free entry for Indian nationals, according to visa processing platform Atlys.

Effective June 8, the Philippines began allowing Indian travelers to enter visa-free for stays of up to 14 days.

Previously, the Philippines ranked eighth among Southeast Asian destinations most searched by Indian users on the Atlys platform.

After the announcement, it swiftly climbed to third place, trailing only Thailand and Indonesia.

Data from Atlys further revealed that couples and honeymooners account for the largest share of interest, making up 42% of all recent Philippines-related searches on the platform.

Solo travelers follow at 27%, with most searches originating from major Indian cities such as Mumbai, Delhi, and Bengaluru.

Air India has announced non-stop flights between Delhi and Manila starting Oct. 1, 2025.

In the first four months of this year, the Philippines, which was named "Asia's Leading Beach Destination" at the 2024 World Travel Awards, welcomed 1.93 million visitors, a 0.83% decrease year-on-year.