Taiwan expects Filipino visitors to top 700,000

By Monsi A. Serrano

Taiwan expects the number of Filipino visitors to exceed 700,000 in 2026, as expanding tourism, employment, and educational exchanges strengthen ties between Taiwan and the Philippines.

Taiwan Ambassador to the Philippines Wallace Minn-Gan Chow cited the growing people-to-people connections between the two sides during his address at Taiwan’s 115th National Day celebration, highlighting initiatives aimed at facilitating travel, improving services for Filipino workers and expanding educational opportunities.

Chow said nearly 630,000 Filipinos visited Taiwan in 2025, setting a record and making the Philippines Taiwan’s largest source of visitors from Southeast Asia. More than 400,000 Filipinos had visited Taiwan in the first half of 2026, putting arrivals on track to exceed the ambassador’s full-year projection.

Taiwanese visitors are also contributing to Philippine tourism. Chow said more than 210,000 Taiwanese visited the Philippines in 2025, making Taiwan the country’s seventh-largest source of visitors worldwide. He added that arrivals from Taiwan had grown substantially in 2026.

The ambassador attributed the growing exchanges partly to the reciprocal extension of 14-day visa-free arrangements by Taiwan and the Philippines in June and July 2026, which he said would facilitate more convenient and frequent travel between the two populations.

Improving support for Filipino workers

Beyond tourism, labor cooperation remains a major component of Taiwan–Philippines relations.

Chow said more than 191,000 overseas Filipino workers were in Taiwan, most of them employed in factory and other production-related work. Their presence makes the Philippines Taiwan’s third-largest source of overseas migrant workers, according to the ambassador.

To improve assistance for Filipino workers, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in the Philippines established a labor division earlier this year.

The Taiwanse envoy said the office also plans to introduce direct-hire arrangements in the future, with the aim of reducing recruitment expenses for Filipino workers, strengthening their protection and helping Taiwanese companies expedite recruitment.

The proposed arrangements could become an important area of labor cooperation, although their implementation details and timetable were not specified in the speech.

Scholarships expand education links

Education is another pillar of the bilateral relationship, with Taiwan continuing to offer scholarship opportunities to Filipino students.

Chow said a record 147 Filipino students received various scholarships provided by the Taiwan government in 2026. More than 5,500 Filipino students were studying in Taiwan, making the Philippines the island’s fifth-largest source of international students.

Many Filipino students are pursuing courses in engineering, manufacturing, information and communications technology, business and other fields relevant to the Philippines’ development needs.

The ambassador said the knowledge, skills, professional networks and experience these students gain in Taiwan could help them serve as bridges between the two sides.

The growing student population also complements broader efforts to strengthen economic cooperation, particularly in technology and advanced manufacturing, where workforce capabilities are increasingly important.

Chow said Taiwan and the Philippines would continue to deepen exchanges across multiple sectors as part of Taiwan’s New Southbound Policy, which is marking its 11th year in 2026.

He expressed confidence that the partnership would grow stronger in the coming years, supported by expanding tourism, labor mobility, education and other forms of people-to-people engagement.