Former Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco’s exit recently drew mixed reactions—from those who chose to skim the surface of her leadership, ranting about her “selfies” and those who saw her work as “transformative.”

The truth is Frasco was a doer. Former Tourism Secretary Mina Gabor, now chairman and president of the International School of Sustainable Tourism in the Philippines, in a report in this paper, lauded Frasco’s action-oriented style.

“When you said something to her, she implemented it. She looked [at it], read it, and implemented it. I think that’s the most important. Passion is something else. Passion without implementation is nothing. And I remember meeting her in the listening tours she had been doing. And I always told her ‘we want you to succeed, because you have the heart, and the intelligence and knowledge to put this tourism department where it should be.’”

Unfortunately for the newly appointed Presidential Adviser for Sustainable and Resilient Communities, Philippines tourism had been lagging behind its Asian neighbors, if one were to go by tourist arrivals alone.

In 2025, reports showed that Malaysia racked up 38 to 42 million tourist arrivals, Thailand 33 million, Vietnam 17 to 22 million, and Indonesia 15 million. The Philippines recorded 6.48 million (including overseas Filipinos), missing its target of 8.4 million arrivals.

Being the department head who had to address the challenges while moving forward with her vision, Frasco was the face that not only filled tourism news but also drew flak for any shortcomings. But was it her fault that the Philippines came last in this case?

“Love the Philippines,” the slogan that either inspired you or irked you, ended up becoming a call to all Filipinos rather than to the country’s visitors. While it is obvious to many that much still needs to be done to make ours as welcoming and appealing as countries like Japan, people must also take responsibility for their part in the whole story.

Yes, the political shenanigans can turn one into a cynic, but howl as we might against the government’s many deficiencies, are we mere spectators in all this?

Perhaps every issue upended into our consciousness is a push for us to act on our problems as a nation. A previous interview with the former tourism chief revealed how she addressed a need that had long been ignored.

While every administration would have different priorities, mostly putting budgets into matters like image promotion, Frasco funneled funds into infrastructure like rest areas and roads.

Tourists, including domestic ones, complain about the state of our airports, their hallways and restrooms, but not much about the poor accessibility of some of the most beautiful spots in the country. Frasco knew we had to make these places easy to get to, as well as safe for travelers.

She made sure to bring attention to places in Mindanao that used to be skipped over security fears, for example. And she had to work within a smaller budget compared to other countries, which spare no expense on promotions alone.

So why is the Philippines lagging in visitor numbers despite having the “biggest tourism economy in ASEAN?”

A February report quoted then Tourism Secretary Frasco: “The World Travel and Tourism Council in their latest economic impact report delivered during the ASEAN Tourism Forum has attested to the fact that the Philippines is now the biggest tourism economy in the ASEAN,” where tourism contributed “USD91.8 billion to the country’s GDP” and “accounted for 23 percent of total national employment.”

With the current fuel supply challenges due to the Middle East tensions, one wonders whether the cost of travel will even ease, enough to drive more tourists within and from outside the country.

A more seamless approach to tourism, with all departments concerned like Transportation and Trade and Industry cooperating, is needed if the department tasked to manage its growth is to perform as well as everyone expects.