The Department of Tourism said Friday it expects the implementation of the electronic visa system to boost international visitor arrivals in the Philippines.
Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco said the e-visa system would improve the experience of inbound travelers and tourists and positively impact international arrivals especially from the Chinese and Indian markets.
“We believe that this will also foster even closer people-to-people exchanges, cultural understanding, and vibrant tourism cooperation,” Frasco said.
The DOT said more than 1.7 million Chinese visitors arrived in the Philippines in 2019. Data showed that as of July 26, 2023, there were 137,822 Chinese arrivals, following the recent lifting of travel restrictions in China.
Frasco said the e-visa system would help raise the confidence level of airlines, charter operators and travel agents to resume flights from various points in China directly to tourist destinations in the Philippines such as Boracay, Bohol, Cebu, Legaspi, Clark, Laoag, Lallo and Manila.
“Certainly, the e-visa will be a game changer in the Chinese market, which currently prefers other Southeast Asian destinations such as Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia which provide landing visa to Chinese travelers thus gaining faster momentum for the tourism recovery of these countries from the negative impacts of the pandemic,” Frasco said.