Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. ____ 
Introduced by HON. LUIS RAYMUND “LRAY” F. VILLAFUERTE, JR. 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
Tourism has been a growing force in the Philippine economy. The industry has contributed a 
total of P2.85 trillion to the local economy in 2016, almost 20% of the country's gross domestic 
product.1 In 2017, the Department of Tourism (DOT) recorded over 6.6 million tourist arrivals 
in the country, posting an 11% growth from the year prior2 . The industry had a strong 2018 
with a rise of 16% in tourist arrivals and 17% in 2019, until COVID-19 hit and slowed this 
momentum. 
The bill proposed intends to build on the growth of the tourism industry in the Philippines by 
generating funds for the improvement of tourist welfare services in the country. A fixed rate of 
25 USD will be collected from tourists traveling to the Philippines and staying for less than 
sixty (60) days. A list of exempted persons is provided herein, including those in the country 
on a work visa and tourists staying the country for more than 60 days in order to encourage 
long staying, high spending tourists. 
Currently, our government imposes a travel tax on Filipinos traveling abroad without a similar 
imposition to foreigners traveling to the Philippines; while our neighboring states tax foreigners 
flying into their countries. The fixed rate of $25 is proposed to be competitive with that of the 
current taxes other countries have set. This is mainly based on the average rates of entry and 
exit taxes imposed by Asian countries such as Thailand, Indonesia, Brunei, Sri Lanka, 
Cambodia, Hong Kong and China. The collection of entry and exit taxes has been imposed 
by other countries on visiting foreign nationals in order to boost the funding for tourism. This 
is more commonly collected from travelers flying into a country, where the fee is incorporated 
into the airline ticket price. In this proposed bill, we follow the same standard of including the 
Tourist Welfare Tax, as it will be called, in the airfare prices. 
The proposed collected fee will be used to improve the tourist welfare services such as existing 
and ensuing Tourist Information and Assistance Desks, the Tourist Police training and 
development program, specialized tourist programs for persons with special needs and 
persons with disabilities. The funds collected will be allocated to the Department of Tourism 
for the development of tourist welfare services and the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise 
Zone authority for the improvement of services in tourism infrastructure. The Tourist Welfare 
Tax will also be allocated to the tourism offices of Local Government Units to encourage the 
1 http://business.inquirer.net/226547/travel-tourism-sector-adds-p2-85t-ph-gdp 
2 http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/965347/dot-records-6-6-million-foreign-tourists-in-2017 
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development of local tourism programs. 
A provision for the adjustment of the tax 5 years after the effectivity of this Act is provided in 
anticipation of possible inflation. A tax refund option is also available for those erroneously 
charged and tourists who have spent over 10,000 US dollars in tourism receipts. 
The approval of this bill is earnestly sought. 
LUIS RAYMUND “LRAY” F. VILLAFUERTE, JR. 


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Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. ____ 
Introduced by HON. LUIS RAYMUND “LRAY” F. VILLAFUERTE, JR. 
AN ACT 
IMPOSING THE COLLECTION OF A TAX ON FOREIGN VISITORS IN THE 
COUNTRY FOR THE PURPOSE OF GENERATING FUNDS FOR TOURIST 
WELFARE SERVICES 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled: 
SECTION 1. Short Title. – This Act shall be known as the “Tourist Welfare Tax Act”. 
SECTION 2. Should Declaration of Policy. – The State declares tourism as an 
indispensable element of the national economy and an industry of national interest 
and importance, which must be harnessed as an engine of socioeconomic growth and 
cultural affirmation to generate investment, foreign exchange and employment, and to 
continue to mold an enhanced sense of national pride for all Filipinos. 
The State shall seek to recognize sustainable tourism development as integral to the 
national socioeconomic development efforts to improve the quality of life of the Filipino 
people, providing the appropriate attention and support for the growth of this industry. 
SECTION 3. Objectives. – Pursuant to the above declaration, the State shall adopt 
the following objectives: 
1.
Promote improved tourist services in the country and tourism awareness
among Filipino nationals;
2.
Provide adequate tourist services to visiting foreign nationals by improving
ports of entry and exit in the country;
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3. 
Promote security for visiting foreign nationals and Filipino nationals through 
transportation and road developments, improved emergency services, and 
training and development of tourist police; 
4. 
Ensure that general well-being and welfare of visiting foreign nationals is 
promoted; and 
5. 
Develop specialized tourist services for persons with special needs and 
persons with disabilities. 
 
SECTION 4. Definition of Terms. – For the purposes of this Act, the following terms 
shall refer to: 
a) 
Tourist Tax – shall refer to the tax imposed on foreign visitors to the country, 
as provided in this Act; 
b) 
Foreign Visitor – shall refer to any person who is not a Filipino citizen or not a 
permanent resident and have been issued a Temporary Visitor's Visa or a 9(a) 
visa for restricted foreign nationals. Unrestricted foreign nationals are allowed 
travel to the Philippines without an entry visa for a thirty (30) to fifty-nine (59) 
day period, depending on the visitor's country of origin; 
c) 
Operator – shall refer to the company, entity, proprietor or management of the 
airline operating flights to and from the Philippines, whether domestic or 
international; 
 
SECTION 5. Tourist Welfare Tax. – There is imposed a tourist tax, hereby known as 
the Tourist Welfare Tax, on all foreign visitors of the Philippines visiting the country for 
tourism and leisure and staying in the Philippines for a period of not more than sixty 
(60) days. The Tourist Tax to be imposed shall be a fixed rate of twenty-five ($25.00) 
US Dollars per foreign visitor or passenger and shall be integrated into airline ticket 
prices. 
 
The tourist tax imposed shall be reflected in official receipts issued by the operator 
and the operator shall be tasked to account for the tourist tax payments in their books. 
 
SECTION 6. Exemption from Payment of Tourist Tax. – The following shall be 
exempt from the payment of the travel tax imposed under Section 3 of this Act: 


 
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a) 
Foreign visitors in the country engaging in official business and have been 
issued a Work Visa or Work Permits; 
b) 
Foreign visitors in transit to another destination and have not stayed in the 
country for more than twenty-four (24) hours; 
c) 
Foreign visitors travelling in the country for more than sixty (60) days but not 
more than one hundred eighty (180) days; 
d) 
A foreign retiree with a valid Special Retiree's Resident Visa issued by the 
Bureau of Immigration; 
e) 
Overseas Filipino Workers returning to the country permanently or for 
vacation; 
f) 
Foreign students in the country for excursion or immersion and have been 
issued a Student Visa; 
g) 
Persons With Disabilities; 
h) 
Children under the age of twelve (12) accompanied by a guardian or adult and 
those under the age of fifteen (15) who have secured a Waiver of Exclusion 
Ground (WEG) from the Bureau of Immigration and allowed admission to the 
country; and 
i) 
Officials and heads of foreign States visiting the Philippines. 
 
SECTION 7. Operator as Withholding Agent. – All domestic carriers and 
international carries with flights to the Philippines are hereby mandated to incorporate 
the tourist tax into the cost of flights flying to any port of entry in the country and 
oversee the collection of the tourist tax accordingly. The operator shall therefor register 
with the Bureau of Internal Revenue as the withholding agent and remit the tourist tax 
collected, as mandated by the National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC), as amended. 
 
Any operator required to withhold, account for, and remit the tourist tax provided in this 
Act, or willfully fails to withheld such tax shall, in addition to other penalties provided 
for in the NIRC, be liable upon conviction to a penalty equal to the total amount of the 
tax not withheld, or not accounted for and remitted. Likewise, any person who aids or 
abets in any manner to evade any such tax or the payment thereof shall be liable upon 
conviction to a penalty as provided in the NIRC. 
 


 
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SECTION 8. Refund of Tourist Tax. – Any person who has erroneously paid or 
overpaid any tourist tax charged against them may lay claim thereof within three (3) 
years from the time the erroneous payment or overpayment occurred. The refund 
thereof may be filed at any Tourism TIEZA or Department of Tourism (DOT) offices, 
satellite or Central. 
 
Foreign visitors who have spent more than ten thousand ($10,000.00) US dollars, or 
its equal in Philippine pesos, in purchases of goods and services with DOT accredited 
tour operators shall also be entitled to a refund of the tourist tax and may lay claim 
thereof, as provided above. 
 
SECTION 9. Tax Adjustment. – The rate of the tourist tax imposed shall be reviewed 
every five (5) years from effectivity of this Act by the Department of Tourism, 
Department of Finance and the Bureau of Internal Revenue for inflation. 
 
SECTION 10. Disposition of Tax Collected. – All funds collected shall be allocated 
as follows: 
a) 
Thirty percent (30%) of the tax collected shall be allotted to the Tourism 
Development Fund to fund Tourist Welfare service such as existing and 
ensuing Tourist Information and Assistance Desks, the Tourist Police training 
and development program, specialized tourist programs for persons with 
special needs and persons with disabilities, and other tourist welfare programs 
set by the Department of Tourism; 
b) 
Forty percent (40%) of the tax collected shall be for use by the Department of 
Tourism to enhance its programs for improved services in airports and ports, 
road development projects through the Tourism Road Infrastructure Program, 
transportation development programs, and the improvement of the emergency 
response capability of the country; and 
c) 
Thirty percent (30%) of the tax collected shall be allocated to the tourism 
infrastructure programs of Local Government Units to encourage the 
development of local tourism programs. 
 
SECTION 11. Role of National Agencies. – The Department of Tourism, together 
with Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA), and the Bureau of 


 
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Internal Revenue shall coordinate and supervise the implementation of the Tourist 
Tax. 
 
SECTION 12. Role of Local Government Units. – Upon the effectivity of this Act, 
Local Government Units are hereby mandated to devise a five (5) year local tourism 
development plan, which shall include the adoption of measures that are geared 
towards the safety, security and welfare of tourists. 
 
SECTION 13. Implementing Rules and Regulations. – The Secretaries of the 
Department of Tourism, Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority, 
Department of Finance and the Bureau of Internal Revenue shall jointly promulgate 
within thirty (30) days from the effectivity of this Act, the implementing rules and 
regulations to carry out the intent, objectives, purposes, and provisions of this Act, 
including such structural and procedural improvement in the systems and agencies 
concerned as may be necessary to ensure the prudent, wise, effective, and efficient 
utilization of the fund established. 
 
SECTION 14. Repealing Clause. – All laws, executive orders, rules and regulations 
or parts thereof inconsistent with any provision hereof are hereby repealed or modified 
accordingly. 
 
SECTION 15. Separability Clause. – If any provision or part hereof is held invalid, the 
other provisions not affected thereby shall remain and continue to be in full force and 
effect. 
 
SECTION 16. Effectivity. – This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its 
publication in the Official Gazette or in any newspaper of general circulation. 
 
Approved,