The Department of Tourism (DOT) is seeking to enhance the Philippines’ travel ports and promote digital payment in its bid to encourage more tourists to visit the country’s hidden gems and emerging destinations.
Speaking at the 2026 ASEAN Inclusive Growth Summit on Wednesday (Nov. 11), Tourism Secretary Dita Angara-Mathay emphasized that supporting more destinations will also benefit tourism frontliners, enterprises, and stakeholders in far areas.
“We recognize that access is a key issue that we must think about and address. We want investments in physical infrastructure, ports and airports. We also want digital solutions to get our Micro, Small, Medium Enterprises onboarded on platforms which have an enormous reach globally,” the tourism Chief said.
The DOT also renewed its partnerships with two leading digital service providers: online travel agency Klook and e-wallet GCash, bannering the Department’s approach to digitalizing tourism services.
The partnership with Klook will leverage the platform’s reach and features for the promotion of curated Philippine tour packages. Meanwhile, the agreement with GCash moves to expand the adoption of cashless payments among tourism MSMEs nationwide.
These efforts to make the overall guest experience more accessible — from booking, travel, to transactions — complement the DOT’s Discover More to Love campaign, which also encourages travelers to go beyond familiar beach and island destinations.
Promoting experiential travel
The tourism Chief also explained that the DOT is working to promote Mindanao as a tourist destination, following a notable increase in the number of visitors interested in experiential travel, including gastronomy, adventure, and culture.
“We want to make sure that people who are now very much into immersive and experiential tourism will get to sort of engage in homestays and have a chance to savor the local cuisine, […] interact with our weavers and farmers,” Secretary Angara-Mathay said.
The 2026 Inclusive Growth Summit was conducted ahead of the official gathering of world leaders for the 49th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits from November 15-18, 2026.
Joining Secretary Angara-Mathay on the panel is Shangri-La Group Chair Kiok Hui Kwong moderated by Asian Development Bank Senior Tourism Industry Specialist Jessie McComb.
