The Philippine government, through the Department of Tourism (DOT), is allocating a total of PHP15 million to fund three exceptional tourism start-up projects from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao under its 2025 Tourism Start-Up Challenge.

In an announcement made on September 24th, Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco revealed that each winning proposal will receive PHP5 million for implementation.

This initiative is in partnership with the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA).

Frasco stated, “To ensure that the benefits of the travel tax truly advance tourism education in the country as well as promote innovation, especially amongst our youth, we are proud to launch the Tourism Start-Up Challenge. Through this initiative, we empower students to bring forward bold ideas that can transform the future of Philippine tourism.”

Who Can Participate?

School-formed groups of four third-year or fourth-year college students, coached by one adviser, may submit their proposals to the CHED regional offices until October 31st.

Proposals need to align with the National Tourism Development Plan and must also include at least one of the six pillars of the grant’s priority areas:

• Facilities and Demo Labs in existing school/university facilities
• Immersion and Career Development
• Technology Innovation and Digitalization
• Start-Up and Incubation Centers
• Research and Development
• Tourism Education & Education Tourism

All proposals will be narrowed down to one per region. The 17 shortlisted proposals will be provided a grant of PHP250,000 to be distributed to the relevant higher education institutions, with only three projects being chosen as national winners.