Intramuros Esplanade hits record 5.9M visitors in just 6 months

MANILA, Philippines – Administrator Atty. Joan Padilla of the Intramuros Administration shared that as of the first week of July, the Intramuros Esplanade had already logged around 5.9 million visitors — both locals and tourists.

Given that pace, officials expect the figure to significantly surpass the seven million visitors recorded for all of 2025.

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Lines have become a regular sight along the Esplanade, with visitors sharing their experiences at the district’s growing number of Instagrammable spots on social media — a shift officials see as evidence that Intramuros is successfully repositioning itself beyond a “one-day” tourist stop.

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Members of the Tuesday Group, a coalition of veteran journalists, were treated to a guided tour of Intramuros’ newest tourism developments this week, in a visit arranged by First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, Atty. Alex Lopez, chair of the Philippine Reclamation Authority and Padilla.

The tour, led on the ground by Padilla, walked the group through a string of new and renovated sites that are reshaping the Walled City from a quick photo-op stop into a destination worth spending a full day — or more — exploring.

Among the stops was Centro de Turismo, an immersive museum that has quickly become one of Intramuros’ most talked-about additions. Built on the former site of the San Ignacio Church — a Neoclassical landmark destroyed during the 1945 Battle of Manila — the museum takes visitors through Intramuros’ story from its pre-colonial roots to its Spanish colonial past, the devastation of World War II, and its ongoing revival.

Next door, the group toured Museo de Intramuros, which is actually made up of two significant reconstructions: the San Ignacio Church and the Mission House of the Society of Jesus. Together, the complex now houses the IA’s extensive ecclesiastical collection — religious art and artifacts that trace the cultural and spiritual roots of the Philippines.

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The tour also included Foro de Intramuros, the newest and largest events venue in the district, built on the site of the former Ateneo and Wow Philippines  clamshell exhibition center. IA officials outlined plans for its continued use as a flexible space for conventions, cultural shows, and large public gatherings.Rounding out the itinerary was a preview of upcoming work on the Almacenes Reales, a more than 2,000-square-meter historic structure inside Fort Santiago originally built in 1591 as a river cargo storage facility. The IA plans to convert it into a retail area with parking — part of a broader push to make Intramuros easier to navigate for both locals and tourists.

“This district is a new canvas,” Padilla told the group, “where tradition and innovation converge.” What struck several members of the Tuesday Group was how much of this transformation has unfolded without heavy fanfare. The revitalization, backed by the First Lady’s continued involvement, has moved forward steadily — new museums opening, historic structures being restored, and event spaces coming online — even as the changes have drawn comparatively little public attention relative to their scale.“It is almost impossible,” one member of the group observed after the tour, “but the First Lady  and her people did it.”

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The Tuesday Group’s visit was led by its chair, Marichu Villanueva of Philstar, together with Chino Leyco of the Manila Bulletin and Jake Maderazo of Inquirer.net.

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