Philippines among Vietnam’s biggest sources of tourists

MANILA— Filipinos’ love for Vietnam is growing and this year’s Travel Madness Expo shows that indeed Vietnam is one of the new sought-after destinations for Filipino tourists.

Signs of promo packages to Hanoi or Danang are in many travel agency’s booths at the expo in Pasay. There’s even a booth by Vietnam’s budget carrier VietJet who is beside other bigger airline booths such as Emirates and Philippine Airlines.

Vanessa Guinto-Avenir is with her baby and other family members when upon checking the discounted price to Vietnam immediately booked a flight for her entire family.

“Sikat daw siya ngayon and maganda mga reviews… Syempre mag Pho at mga coffee, Vietnam coffee,” she said on why she chose Vietnam.

Travel Madness Expo Chairman Maria Paz Alberto also said that Vietnam is a growing destination of choice for many Filipinos because mainly of its affordability. Many airlines have several flights to and from various points in both Vietnam and the Philippines. It is growing alongside Japan and Korea, but with Vietnam, visa is not required for Filipinos.

“There’s so many cities to go- Danang, Hanoi, Saigon, Sapa and beyond. They can buy so many things - coffee and local food. That’s why Vietnam is so affordable,” Alberto said.

Francis Monzon, Operations Manager of PAPH Travel & Tours also noticed there are more Filipinos inquiring trips to Vietnam as well as China. He hopes that this trend will continue this year to help the global tourism sector which was affected by the conflict in the Middle East.

“Now the Asia products are booming, especially after the war in the Middle East. We’re hoping that this Christmas season mas lalu pa dadami travelers na mga Pilipino,” Monzon said.

Based on data from the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism, tourist arrivals from the Philippines have been growing from just 49,266 in 2022 to 153,168 in 2023, and then it jumped to 265,947 in 2024. In 2025, Filipino tourists numbered 482,173– among the biggest tourist groups.

For the first half of 2026 alone, Filipino tourists in Vietnam already hit 364,721. For the month of June alone, the Philippines is the biggest source of tourists from ASEAN to Vietnam, even bigger than its neighboring countries Cambodia, Laos, or Thailand.

Alberto is happy with the growing number of travellers among Filipinos with Monzon adding that this could also be a sign of the country’s upper middle income status— which increases some Filipinos’ capacity to travel. But they also hope Filipinos will also travel domestically.

The Department of Tourism recently launched the ‘Discover More to Love’ campaign which would entice Filipinos to travel more locally to help the economy and many small businesses.

“Every time we book an accommodation, we help sustain tourism jobs. We support tourism businesses and inject life into our economy,” said Tourism Undersecretary Stanley Ng at the opening of the Travel Madness Expo.

Alberto added that she expects revenge travel in the second half of the year with the easing of tensions in the Middle East which is also leading to a drop on fuel surcharges. She hopes this will lead to the rebound of the tourism industry again.

“Filipinos love to travel and be with families during the Christmas season.. I look forward to people travelling again more aggressively,” Alberto added.

The Travel Madness Expo will run from July 10 to 12, 2026 at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay. There are dozens of booths and exhibitors offering discounts and travel promos.