Started as a private initiative to promote the Philippines as a major travel destination, the Philippine Tourist & Travel Association was organized in 1950. In 1956, the Board of Travel and Tourist Industry was created by Congress as stipulated in the Integrated Reorganization Plan. In 1972, sanctioned as law under Presidential Decree No. 2, as amended, the Department of Trade and Tourism was established, reorganizing the then Department of Commerce and Industry. A Philippine Tourism Commission was created under the unified Trade and Tourism Department to oversee the growth of the tourism industry as a source of economic benefit for the country.
In 1973, PresidentFerdinand Marcos created a new cabinet-level Department of Tourism (DOT) by splitting the Department of Trade and Tourism into two separate departments. Included in the new Department of Tourism were the newly created Philippine Tourism Authority (PTA) and Philippine Convention Bureau (PCB). The Department of Tourism was then renamed Ministry of Tourism as a result of the shift in the form of government pursuant to the enforcement of the 1973 Constitution.
In 2003, the Department of Tourism initiated one of its most successful tourism promotion projects, WOW Philippines, under Secretary Richard J. Gordon.
The latest improvements in the tourism industry in the country came about with the passage of Republic Act No. 9593 or the "Tourism Act of 2009."
Undersecretary for Public Affairs, Communications & Special Projects
Undersecretary for Tourism Development Planning
Undersecretary for Tourism Promotions
Undersecretary for Tourism Regulation Coordination & Resource Generations
Assistant Secretary for Administration and Finance
Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs, Communications and Special Projects
Assistant Secretary for Product and Market Development
Assistant Secretary for Tourism Regulation Coordination & Resource Generation for Metro Manila Cluster
Assistant Secretary for Tourism Regulation Coordination & Resource Generation for Luzon and Visayas
Bureaus and offices
Bureau of Domestic Tourism Promotions and Information
Bureau of International Tourism Promotions
Office of Product Development
Office of Tourism Coordination
Office of Tourism Development Planning
Office of Tourism Information
Office of Tourism Standards
Agencies of the Department of Tourism
Also known as the "DOT Family", the following agencies are attached to the DOT and shall be under the supervision of the Secretary for program and policy coordination: