Vietnam and the Philippines Sign a Tourism Pact — Here's What It Means for Southeast Asia Travel
TravelVietnam already draws 1.5 million international visitors a month and ranked among Asia’s fastest-growing leisure destinations in 2025. The Philippines is surging alongside it. The two countries just decided to make getting between them significantly easier.
What Happened
During Vietnamese President Tô Lâm’s state visit to Manila, Vietnam and the Philippines signed a Tourism Cooperation Program covering 2026–2029. The agreement commits both governments to joint marketing campaigns, bundled travel packages combining destinations in both countries, and a concrete push to increase air frequency on routes connecting Manila and Cebu with Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
The background numbers explain the urgency: nearly half a million Filipinos visited Vietnam in 2025, but only approximately 33,599 Vietnamese made the reverse trip. That imbalance suggests the demand infrastructure — flights, promotions, awareness — is underdeveloped in one direction, and the pact is designed to address it.
Why It Matters
Southeast Asian multi-destination itineraries have historically required awkward routing. A traveler combining Vietnam and the Philippines typically flew in and out of separate hubs with no direct link between them, or paid a hub premium through Bangkok or Kuala Lumpur. More direct frequency between Manila/Cebu and Hanoi/Ho Chi Minh City changes that routing math.
For Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan holders and other oneworld travelers, the Philippine Airlines context matters here. Philippine Airlines is set to join the Oneworld Alliance in 2027, which will make PA codeshares and awards more accessible through existing oneworld currencies. Vietnam currently has no major oneworld-aligned carrier, but the routing improvement from the bilateral pact benefits travelers regardless of loyalty program.
The secondary destination angle is meaningful for travel planning. Tourism marketing in both countries has concentrated on established hotspots — Manila, Cebu, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City. The pact’s joint promotion commitment is designed to surface secondary destinations that are currently invisible to most international travelers: Northern Vietnam’s Ha Giang, Central Vietnam’s Quy Nhon, and the Philippines’ Palawan and Batanes, among others.
The So What
The Vietnam-Philippines pact is a catalyst for travel itineraries that were logistically awkward and commercially underserved. Watch for new direct routes and package offerings on the Manila-Hanoi and Cebu-Ho Chi Minh City corridors over the next 12–18 months. For travelers already drawn to Southeast Asia, combining Vietnam with the Philippines is about to become a more structurally sound itinerary — not just logistically but in terms of available flights, pricing, and package options.
Source: Skift
Content created with AI assistance and reviewed for accuracy.
Join the conversation
Stack Insiders is our free community for readers who want to go deeper — share resources, ask questions, and connect with others across every vertical we cover.
Join Stack Insiders →