Philippine Ministry of Tourism: Implementation of e-visa will "hopefully restore the Chinese and Indian markets"

The Philippine Ministry of Tourism said that the upcoming implementation of electronic visas (e-visa) for temporary tourists will "hopefully restore the Chinese market and open up the Indian market".

This week, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that it will pilot an electronic visa system for Chinese citizens in Philippine diplomatic posts in China on August 24.

The e-visa system is designed to improve the convenience and accessibility of foreigners, allowing international travelers to the country for tourism or business to apply for a temporary visitor visa through mobile devices and personal computers.

The system will also be implemented among Indian nationals by the end of this year.

Tourism Minister Cristina Vlasco welcomed the implementation, saying it would improve the experience for foreign visitors. She also said that this can have a positive impact on the revitalization of Philippine industry.

"We are pleased that the instructions of President Little Marcos on the implementation of the electronic visa system will be implemented soon with the implementation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as this will definitely improve the experience of inbound travelers and tourists and have a positive impact on the development of our international tourists, especially those from the Chinese and Indian markets," Vlasco said.

tourism minister christina garcia vlasco said: "we believe that this will also promote closer people-to-people exchanges, cultural understanding and vibrant tourism cooperation."

For Vlascoe, the e-visa will increase the number of Chinese tourists in particular. She noted that before the COVID-19 pandemic, China was the second largest tourism market in the Philippines.

In 2019, it contributed 1.7 million visitors. After the recent lifting of travel restrictions on Chinese, the Ministry of Transport recorded 137,822 inbound travelers from China as of July 26.

The Ministry of Transportation said, "e-visas are also considered to be one of the windows that can enhance the confidence of airlines, charter operators and travel agencies to resume direct flights from various parts of China to Philippine tourist destinations, such as Boracay, Baohe Island, Cebu, Legazpi, Clark, Lavager, Lalo and Manila. Visa processing is expected to be more relaxed and increased."

"Of course, e-visas will be a game changer for the Chinese market, which currently favors other Southeast Asian destinations such as Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia, which provide visas on arrival for Chinese tourists, thus gaining faster momentum for the recovery of tourism in these countries from the negative impact of the pandemic," Vlasco said.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. earlier this year ordered relevant government agencies to extend electronic visas to citizens of certain countries to encourage tourists from their countries to visit the Philippines.

In response to the directive, the Department of Transportation organized a visa reform convergence meeting with the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Department of Information and Communication Technology (DICT), the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Immigration (BI) in March last year to discuss how to help streamline the Philippine visa application process.

The ministry said the visa reform convergence conference was held not only to address bottlenecks in the tourism sector caused by procedural obstacles, but also to accelerate the recovery of the country's tourism industry.

"We believe that the implementation of the e-visa system will encourage more Chinese and new Indian tourists to explore the wonders of our archipelago, creating unforgettable experiences and lasting memories that will surely make them fall in love with the Philippines, the world's top country," said Vlasco.