The Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) welcomed Taiwan’s decision to extend its visa-free entry scheme for Filipinos for another year starting Aug. 1.
“We thank the Taiwan government for their decision extending by another year the visa-free entry for Filipinos into their country.
Such move will definitely further enhance trade and friendly relations between our countries,” MECO chair Silvestre Bello III said in a statement over the weekend.
On Friday, Taiwan announced that it is allowing all Filipinos to travel to Taiwan without a visa for a maximum of 14 days citing the purpose of tourism, business, transit, visiting relatives, and attending functions or events.
This year, Taiwan targets to attract more than 320,000 visitors from the Philippines.
“We look forward to stronger exchanges in the field of labor, trade, investments, and culture with this renewed display of benevolence by Taiwan,” Bello said.
Taiwan on Friday extended for another year its visa-free entry policy for the Philippines, starting from Aug. 1 to July 31, 2024.
The announcement was made by the Taiwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs as it ramps up its efforts to revive pre-pandemic tourism figures.
“In this year of tourism recovery, Taiwan is targeting more than 320,000 visitors from the Philippines. I cordially invite all Filipino friends to come and join us in exploring Taiwan’s beauty, especially with the 14-day visa-free program,” said Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in the Philippines Representative Wallace Chow.
He highlighted the potential in strengthening tourism exchanges between Taiwan and the Philippines as he cited the rising demand for leisure travel following the pandemic.
Since Taiwan reopened its border on Oct. 13 last year, the number of its Filipino arrivals already reached 60,723 in the first quarter of 2023.
The Taiwan MOFA said it will continue to review and fine-tune its visa policies to attract more visitors while ensuring border and public security.
“We will also continue to communicate with the governments of related countries to enhance visa treatment for Taiwan nationals and make their overseas travel more convenient,” it said.
Filipinos were first included in the visa-free entry scheme during a nine-month trial period from November 2017 to July 2018, allowing them to stay visa-free in Taiwan for at least 14 days.
The scheme has been extended yearly since.
‘Travel madness expo’
The Taiwan Tourism Bureau is also in Manila to lead a delegation to join the 10th Travel Madness Expo (TME) in Pasay City from June 30 to July 2, 2023.
In attracting more Filipinos to visit Taiwan, the bureau said group passengers attending the expo “can also enjoy a subsidy starting at NTD5,000 while foreign independent travelers can enjoy a free one-way travel pass for the airport MRT and have a chance to win a travel prize worth NTD5,000 NTD via a lucky draw”.
The Taiwan Tourism Bureau delegation for this event consists of 16 organizations and associations from city and county governments, tourism-related associations, travel agencies, hotels, and souvenir shops, with a total of 35 delegates.