BY:DONALD SEVILLA
FIGURES DON’T LIE
Mathematics is an exact science.Thus, 1+1 equals 2. It can never be 3 or 4.
While figures don’t lie, they can be tailor-fitted to suit a narrative. It’s interesting how they can be presented to send a propaganda message.
Yet to the discerning eye everything must be taken with a grain of salt.
A case in point.Let’s examine the figures released for nationwide tourism arrivals in 2025 which was broken down as follows: 5.9M for foreigners and 500K for overseas Filipinos.
While dismal compared to our Asian neighbors and way below the targets set by tourism authorities, this should serve as a sounding board for us to improve on.
In Bohol our tourist arrivals were at 1.4M for 2025 as reported by our local authorities which accordingly marked an increase from the previous year.
Interesting if it were the case. To the inquisitive mind do we mean to say we cornered that much tourists, approximately 21% of the national total?
What about Cebu, Boracay, Palawan,Siargao ,Puerto Galera,Baguio and other equally attractive places in Luzon and the rest of the country?
Are our figures realistic to say the least? Bohol’s total population is roughly 1.4M and if this were the case we could probably expect congestion everywhere we go.
1.4M translates to about 3,800 visitors per day. Not impossible but taken in the context of our tourism infrastructure, etc.
could be improbable.
At its peak how many foreign flights did we have landing at our airport? Now how many do we have?
The Chinese tourists stopped coming and the Koreans came but dwindled when whale shark watching sites were closed.
Yet we are saying we had more tourists in Bohol last year than in 2024 when things were at its peak?
We do not intend to downplay efforts aimed at reviving the industry, but if we are to improve we must be true to ourselves and be grounded.
We do not even see manned tourist help desks at our seaports and airport to facilitate their entry and do away with preventable inconveniences that make us look bad.
How did we gather our data? Was it meticulous, precise or logical? But whether the figures we got are realistic or not, it does not erase fundamental issues that have to be addressed.
There are deeper concerns and perceptions that must be resolved immediately to sustain the industry. Are we heading towards this direction or simply deluding ourselves into thinking we are doing a great job?
Is Bohol expensive and worth coming back to as a tourist? Figures don’t lie!
Ref: Pna gov.ph (statistics)
Capitol reports