Philippine president approves tax rebate plan for foreign tourists as soon as next year

On January 29, local time, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.) has approved a value-added tax rebate program for foreign tourists in 2024 to promote the number of tourists and tourism in the country.

The Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said Marcos approved the VAT refund scheme based on the recommendations of the Tourism Sector Group of the Private Sector Advisory Council (psaC).

Marcos has previously approved several recommendations of the Private Sector Advisory Committee, including the introduction of electronic visas for specific countries in 2023, giving priority to China and India; and the elimination of the "Health Pass" (OHP) or entry QR code requirements.

The Private Sector Advisory Committee also recommended that the outdated and noisy broadcasting system be withdrawn at airports across the country and that travel taxes be automatically added to all tickets, but the above proposal has not yet been approved by the president.

Presidential officials said earlier that Marcos would issue an executive order to implement the tax rebate program because other countries are also implementing the preferential policy.

Last Thursday, the Private Sector Advisory Committee submitted its recommendations to the Chief Executive at a meeting at the Presidential Palace, aiming to further promote the country's tourism industry, including improving airport infrastructure and operations, managing the country's brand and image, promoting tourism investment, etc.

Private Sector Advisory Council officials also told Marcos that they are developing a mobile app called e-Travel that integrates all information on immigration, customs, health and quarantine.

They said that the application can be launched this month or next month, and improvements are being made to allow group or family tourists to easily enter data, including tourist destinations, transportation and hotel information, and traffic conditions.

As long as there is an Internet connection, tourists can complete the form before boarding or on the plane through the application.

Marcos has been pushing for the digitization of the government, saying it could make it easy for tourists to fill in entry documents while traveling, while securing the border.

The Private Sector Advisory Council, made up of business leaders and industry experts, provides technical advice to the President to meet the government's economic goals in the six key areas of agriculture, digital infrastructure, health care, infrastructure, job creation and tourism.

From February to December last year, a total of 2.65 million tourists entered the country, 2.02 million of whom were foreign tourists and 628,445 Filipinos. This figure is higher than the number of visitors in 2021, 163,879, but it is still significantly lower than the pre-pandemic 8.26 million level.

This year, the Department of Tourism (DOT) is aiming to welcome 4.8 million tourists, which can bring in revenue from the 2.58 trillion Philippine peso.