Misinformation among biggest hurdles in Philippines tourism – Frasco

February 5, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — Amid the backlash she has been receiving for alleged “elf-promotion instead of showcasing the country’s tourist destinations, Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco asserted that misinformation has been one of the challenges preventing the country from being promoted as a travel destination.

“I think one of the biggest challenges in Philippine tourism is misinformation… there is so much misinformation about Philippine tourism and that poses a challenge for us,” she said during the Kapihan sa Manila Bay forum yesterday.

She cited the incident when online insurance firm HelloSafe branded the country as the “least safe country on the planet” last year, which the Department of Tourism disagreed with.

Also hindering efforts to promote the Philippines as a tourist destination were 34 travel alerts issued by countries to their citizens, due to disasters and other issues affecting the country such as typhoons, earthquakes, rallies and crime prevalence.

Among those that issued travel alerts were the United States, South Korea and Japan, all top sources of foreign tourists since the country reopened its borders in 2022.

With peace and order among the “very high-ranking priorities in tourism development,” Frasco said the agency has partnered with the Department of the Interior and Local Government and the Philippine National Police to train police officers who can attend to tourists.

It has also taken up the issue of travel alerts with the Department of Foreign Affairs and the DOT’s offices abroad, with Frasco giving assurance that the “national government is able to manage the issues.”

Frasco said “telling the truth” would help in promoting Philippine tourism.

“With so much material out there,” she also acknowledged the role of citizens in doing their part to encourage more people to visit and explore the country by taking selfies and doing their own videos while staying in some of the country’s tourist destinations.

No more photos

Meanwhile, Frasco said she has ordered the DOT regional offices to “take down any material bearing my image and to not produce any material that may bear my image.”

She also appealed to local government units to “please don’t put up any tarps to bear my image (and) take this issue of such small importance, as a distraction.”

During a Senate hearing this week, Sen. Raffy Tulfo called out Frasco for allegedly promoting herself instead of highlighting Philippine tourist destinations in the DOT’s collaterals.

He also took up the issue of a Japan-based magazine that put her on the cover, which apparently featured issues raised by Japanese travelers about Philippine tourism and at the same time lifted materials from the DOT website and social media accounts.

Frasco hinted that the DOT’s “two profiles” may have been “muddled together” and caused confusion to the public, hence the accusations.

“There are two profiles that the DOT maintains, one is the corporate profile where all activities and programs are regularly reported, and the marketing profile where promotion of our destinations and products never ceased,” she explained.

“Like any other agency, our corporate profile operates to be fully transparent of our programs and projects and activities,” she said.

She added the DOT has “all the evidence to prove that the destinations, products and merits of the Philippines have been the singular subject of promotion of the marketing profile.”

“We invite a close scrutiny of the promotions that have been done because we are fully confident of the fact that we have not waivered or reneged on our obligation to promote,” she said.

She also reiterated her statement to Tulfo – brother of former DOT secretary Wanda Tulfo-Teo – that she has no intent of running for national office, which she said was caused by her being “very visible.”

“The accusation is I am very visible because I wish to promote myself. But will there perhaps be room for the argument that I’m very visible because I’m simply working?” she asked.