DOT asks BI: Ease visa process for tourists
The Department of Tourism (DOT) is urging the Bureau of Immigration (BI) to hasten the processing of visas upon arrival (VUAs) of foreign visitors in a bid to increase tourist arrivals.
Benito Bengzon Jr., tourism undersecretary and spokesperson, said at a meeting of hoteliers in Makati on Thursday that the DOT was looking at increasing arrivals from China and India.
“Right now, two major markets that we have to really look out in terms of facilitating entry are China and India,” Bengzon said.
Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat also said in Tokyo that the DOT also wanted an increase in the number of tourists from Japan.
“As we face the next half of 2018, we look forward with excitement to hitting a new high in Japanese tourism arrivals by breaching the 600,000 mark,” Puyat said on Thursday.
Japan market
Puyat said Japan sent a total of 584,180 visitors to the country last year and has remained the fourth top tourism market with a 9.14 percent increase from 2016’s arrivals of 535,238.
South Korea remained the No. 1 source of foreign tourists at 1.6 million, or a market share of 24.28 percent, but China dislodged United States as the second top market with 968,447 tourists, or 14.63 percent of total inbound tourist traffic in 2017.
Arrival of Chinese tourists grew 43.81 percent to 559,289 from January to May, compared to the same period last year.
India was 12th in the tourism tally with 107,278 arrivals in 2017, but the government sees it as a viable market.
Indian market
Only Indian passport holders with valid visas to the European Union, United States, Australia, Japan and Singapore are granted VUAs in the Philippines.
In August last year, the BI started issuing VUAs to Chinese nationals “to attract more tourists and investors from China.”
Also called “landing visas,” VUAs are given upon a foreigner’s arrival.
The program to attract more tourists by easing visa processes comes in the wake of the controversy over moves to deport foreign missionaries accused by the Duterte administration of interference in domestic affairs.
