Central Visayas posts 6.9-M visitors despite disasters

The Department of Economy, Planning and Development in Central Visayas (DepDev-7) reported Tuesday that the region recorded 6.9-million visitors in 2025, despite two major disasters that struck Cebu during the year.

The figure marks a slight improvement from 2024, when total arrivals reached 6,453,422 — an 8.4 percent growth year-on-year, based on data from the Department of Tourism in Central Visayas (DoT-7).

“The year 2025 was a challenging one for the Central Visayas tourism industry, yet tourism arrivals managed to surpass 2024 figures,” DepDev-7 said.

Domestic tourists accounted for around 63 percent of total arrivals.

Among foreign markets, South Korea remained the top source of visitors, with an estimated 966,000 arrivals, although this reflected a 5.38 percent decline from 2024.

Japanese tourists ranked second, reaching 337,812 — up 50.45 percent from 244,537 in 2024.

The United States placed third with 261,004 visitors, followed by China with 112,121 and Taiwan with 103,219.

Cebu was hit by a magnitude 6.9 earthquake in September and typhoon “Tino” in November, both of which disrupted tourism activities.