Industry News Updates for the Philippine and Global Hospitality and Tourism Industry for the week ending February 13, 2026.
Industry News Updates & Headlines:
- Bantayan Island Latest Scammer Target
- Student Named Regional President
- Philippine Resorts Lead In 2026 FTG Star Awards
- 5 New Megaworld Hotels
- Lagayan Welcomes 31 Tour Guides
- 2026 KookFest Dates Announced
- US Tourism Drops 4% While Rest of World Grows
- India and China Main Outbound Growth Drivers
- UK’s Electronic Travel Authorisation Takes Affect
- Travel Disruption Warnings For Europe
Bantayan Island Latest Scammer Target
Bantayan Island Hotels are the latest to be targeted by online booking scammers.
The scammers modus is to create new Facebook Pages, replicating a hotels business page, with photos and logos. It is likely that they are also using Click or Bot Farms to quickly generate huge numbers of followers and accounts liking their posts.
They attempt to look legit by keeping hotel room rates and deal offers realistic.
Victims of the scammers have been asked to secure bookings with a payment to “dummy” bank accounts or through cash apps like GCash, or via e-Wallets. Excuses given for offering these modes of payment include banking or internet issues at the hotel.
One Island Tourism Association (OITA) President, Nelson Yuvallos advised that as many as 200 people have been scammed by these fake accounts, with more cases being added daily.
Boracay has been weathering this same storm since mid-2025 and issues similar advice to that given by hotels on Bantayan Island:
- Book direct through the hotel or resort website.
- Always check and verify hotel and resort websites (look for the https in the url)
- Always check and verify hotel and resort social media accounts before making a booking or enquiry – do they feature the blue tick, when was the account created etc.
- Do not send payments to personal accounts or unverified e-Wallets
The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group are currently investigating this latest scam surge.
Student Named Regional President
Angel Kristine Ang, a student at the College of Hospitality Management (CHM), Central Philippine University has been elected as the Regional President of Western Visayas, Junior Tourism and Hospitality Management Association of the Philippines (JTHMAP).
Angel, a third-year Tourism Management (Bachelor of Science) student was elected to the position at the recent Panunumpa at Sandigan, held at Jose Rizal University, Mandaluyong City.
This role will see Angel working to foster collaboration among the member schools, strengthening regional initiatives, and contributing to the advancement of hospitality and tourism education in Western Visayas.
Angel also serves as the President of the College of Hospitality Management Ambassadors and Ambassadresses.
Philippine Resorts Lead In 2026 FTG Star Awards
13 Manila Hotels, Resorts and Spas feature in the 2026 Forbes Travel Guide Stars Awards. And two hotels received the Recommended Title.
Okada Manila retained its 5-Star rating for the seventh year in a row, along with a 5-Star award for its Spa for the fourth consecutive year.
While Melco Resorts & Entertainment, which manages City of Dreams Manila, has been awarded a total of 107 Forbes Travel Guide Stars across its hotel, restaurants and spas located throughout Asia.
“We are deeply honored to have Melco recognized as the world’s leading integrated resort company by Forbes Travel Guide in 2026. Attaining the most Five-Star awards globally among integrated resort operators is a testament to our team’s unwavering commitment to excellence.” Lawrence Ho, CEO & Chairman, Melco.
Forbes Travel Guide Star Hotels
Recommended
- Conrad Manila
- Makati Shangri-La Manila
Hotels with 4 Stars
- Fairmont Makati
- Hyatt Regency, Manila City of Dreams
- Marco Polo Ortigas Manila
- Nobu Hotel Manila
- Raffles Makati
- Shangri-La at the Fort, Manila
- Solaire Resort North, Manila
Hotels with 5 Stars
- Nüwa, City of Dreams Manila
- Okada Manila
- The Peninsula Manila
- Sky Tower at Solaire Resort Entertainment City, Manila
Spas with 5 Stars
- Nüwa, City of Dreams Manila
- The Retreat Spa, Okada Manila
The Forbes Travel Guide undertakes anonymous and independent inspections, with attention given to a property’s facilities and service quality. This is benchmarked against international standards.
5 New Megaworld Hotels
Megaworld will be launching five new hotels in 2026. Three Savoy brand hotels will be opened, with one located in Palawan, and one in San Fernando, Pampanga. The developer will also open its second hotel in Pasig City, and another hotel in Bacolod City.
The fifth property will be a beachside development of high-end residences and commercial spaces in Nasugbu, Batangas.
The developments will add 2,000 rooms to Megaworlds portfolio.
Lagayan Welcomes 31 Tour Guides
Lagayan, Abra, Cordilla now has 31 new tour guides, after they recently completed the DOT Tour Guide Training.
The intensive DOT accredited course is undertaken over 7 days and includes cultural and heritage knowledge, quality visitor services, safety and lifesaving skills.
The 31 new tour guides are from the barangays of Collago, Poblacion and Pulot, which are close to the popular tourist spots of Ar-arbis Falls, Barusibis Falls, Gaco Viewdeck, Lagayan Caves and Lusuac Cold Spring.
2026 KookFest Dates Announced
KookFest is back and set to take place from March 4-7, 2026 at Baler, Aurora
Get ready for four days of fun, waves, raves and art, whether you are a pro-surfer or kook (newbie).
Brought to you by Apotheka and Bays Inn Resort, the festival includes a surf contest that is also open to kooks, and a community fair.
Global Industry News Updates
US Tourism Drops 4% While Rest of World Grows
The data for 2025 International arrivals for the US is in, and it’s not good. While international tourism grew by 4% across the rest of the world, the US saw it drop by 4.2%
Hotel and tourism businesses are hoping to see arrivals rise this year, as the US is hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup. But there are reports that some football fans have already cancelled their event and flight tickets, citing the political climate, ICE, and new immigration and visa requirements as their reason. Others didn’t bother to book tickets at all due to the high price.
However, US domestic travel grew slightly in 2025, with one night stays (according to SiteMinder) and the short-term rental market taking a strong market growth share.
India and China Main Outbound Growth Drivers
Indian and Chinese tourists have emerged as the two demographics leading the way in outbound travel growth according to MMGY‘s 2026 Portrait of Asia-Pacific International Travelers
Food and Adventure are their top interests for traveling, along with reliable and clean airlines and accommodation, and safety standards.
The report shows that Chinese travelers have the highest expected trip spending, and that both Chinese and Indian travelers are more likely to book premium flight seats over economy.
Both demographics are also more likely to book via their phones, with Indian travelers using AI platforms for inspiration and planning.
Marriot To Embed In Google AI Interface
Skift reports that Marriot is already working with Google to embed direct hotel bookings into its AI Interface.
With AI Agents and imminent transactional interfaces, Marriot is working to develop hotel reservation integration, avoiding the need for potential guests to be redirected to another site or platform to secure their reservation.
UK’s Electronic Travel Authorisation Takes Affect
The UK’s new Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) comes into affect this month.
From February 25, 2026 tourists who are not required to secure a visa to visit the UK will not be able to continue on with their journey, whether inbound or transiting, without an Electronic Travel Authorisation.
An Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) lets tourists travel to the UK for tourism, visiting family and certain other reasons for up to 6 months. Tourists who will need to apply for an ETA will be those coming from Europe, the USA, Australia and Canada.
You can check if you need a Visa or an ETA here. The ETA costs £16 (P1,266) per person.
Travel Disruption Warnings For Europe
Industry experts are warning of widespread travel disruptions across Europe this coming summer – June to September – as the EU’s new biometric Entry-Exit System (EES) falls into wider use.
Non-European travelers will need to be fingerprinted, photographed and registered upon arrival at a European Country. Airports are already reporting long queue times, unreliable self-service kiosks, and operational difficulties with the non-EU traveler fingerprinting and facial recognition checks.
The European Commission is under pressure from industry groups to devise contingency measures to reduce queues and avoid delays to onward passengers ahead of the summer season.
The EES aims to strengthen border security, and there are similar systems being implemented globally. However, there are concerns about the operational readiness of the EES, which remains unevenly applied by border authorities across countries.
