The Philippines is set to revive the electronic visa (e-Visa) programme for Chinese nationals from November, in an effort to lure more tourists to the country.
The Philippines’ Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco said in Tuesday remarks that she expects her country to see an increase in Chinese arrivals in the next six months once the e-Visa programme is available to Chinese nationals from November.
“With the e-Visa being resumed only in November, it’s really a lot of market preparation to rebuild what has been lost,” she told reporters on the sidelines of a public occasion.
“The market penetration, I anticipate, will only be next year. As we can see in the results of any marketing campaign, it’s a work of at least six months before you can see actual conversion,” she added, as cited by the official Philippine News Agency.
The Philippine Embassy in Beijing announced recently that it would begin issuing Philippine electronic visas to qualified applicants residing in mainland China. Such visas would also be offered by the country’s consulates in Chongqing, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Macau, Shanghai, and Xiamen.
Chinese applicants who intend to visit the Philippines for tourism or business purposes can apply for the e-Visa if they are travelling for a non-extendable period of 14 days. They should enter through the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Metro Manila or the Mactan-Cebu International Airport.
In a Tuesday memo, Maybank Securities Inc said China joining the Philippine e-Visa programme was “crucial” given that the Philippines’ inbound tourism revival was “lagging” the recovery seen in other ASEAN countries – a reference to neighbouring Southeast Asia nations.
According to the institution, the number of foreign arrivals to the Philippines in the first nine months this year reached circa 3.9 million, down 3.5 percent year-on-year.
The number of visitors from the “key markets” of South Korea and China in the nine months to September 30 “saw sharp declines of 21 percent and 22 percent year-on-year, respectively,” noted Maybank.
“The e-Visa programme simplifies access for priority markets by offering a more predictable processing time … compared to conventional embassy route,” wrote Maybank analyst Ronalyn Joyce Lalimo.
“This eases access for high-value markets like South Korea, Japan, and Singapore, as well as emerging ones like India and UAE [United Arab Emirates],” stated the analyst.
She added: “With domestic consumption accounting for 70 percent of GDP and ongoing infrastructure upgrades, the [Philippine] tourism sector remains resilient and set for sustainable long-term growth.”
