Rising fuel costs stemming from the fighting in the Middle East have dampened domestic tourism, the Department of Tourism (DoT) said.

Supervising Tourism Operations Officer Ryan R. Carlos said in a webinar on Monday that higher fuel prices have pushed airfares up. "We cannot deny that inflation is also one of the factors," Mr. Carlos said, pointing to soaring prices for air travel, accommodations, and various tourism-related expenditures.

Inflation accelerated to 7.2% in September from 6.1% in August, bringing the nine-month average to 5.4% — meaning the fare increases Mr. Carlos cited are landing on top of broader price pressure already weighing on household budgets.

The Civil Aeronautics Board set the passenger fuel surcharge at Level 16 for Oct. 16-31, down one notch from the first half of the month. Under Level 16, airlines may collect fuel surcharges ranging from P525 to P1,535 for domestic flights and between P1,733.76 and P12,891.29 for international flights, depending on distance. Passenger fuel surcharges are collected on top of base fares, so the level in effect during a given half-month window feeds directly into the final price of a ticket.

To address rising costs, Mr. Carlos said the DoT has been partnering with various travel associations to help bring down the cost of tourism-related goods and services. The department has also directed its regional offices to develop affordable itineraries.

Domestic tourism propped up the industry last year, according to the Key Indicators of the Household Survey on Domestic Visitors report. Of the 84.38 million individuals aged 15 years and over, 74.5% took at least one domestic trip in 2025 — a breadth of participation that makes fare and accommodation costs a concern for a wide share of Filipino households, not only the tourism industry.

Female domestic travelers accounted for 50.5% of the total, compared with 31.11 million, or 49.5%, for males.

"By age group, domestic travelers are much more concentrated in the younger age group, particularly in the range of 13 to 54 years," Assistant National Statistician Genelyn Ma. F. Sarte said, adding that the highest percentage of travelers belonged to the 25 to 29 age group.

In 2025, 136.3 million trips were made by Filipinos aged 15 years and over. Of these, 98%, or 133.54 million trips, were classified as independent travel, while the remainder were package tours. According to the report, independent travelers spent an average of P2,534, while package tour travelers spent P8,748. How the surcharge level moves in upcoming half-month settings, and whether inflation eases from September's pace, will be markers to watch as the year closes. — Justine Irish D. Tabile

Source: BusinessWorld