DOT plans relaxing visa processing
The Department of Tourism is eyeing to relax the visa processing for the country’s emerging tourist markets.
DOT undersecretary and spokesman Benito Bengzon Jr., in a recent forum with the Cebu business community, said the agency is looking to shorten the process for visas upon arrival (VUA) for major tourism markets such as China and India.
Bengzon said the agency was expecting the commitment of the Department of Justice to shorten the process.
Currently, the processing for VUAs for Chinese visitors is 10 days and that the DOJ is reportedly eyeing to shorten this to five days.
The agency is likewise studying to apply this for the Indian market.
However, Indian nationals who already hold visas for Australia, Japan, UK, the Schengen countries and the US are allowed to enter the Philippines visafree for 14 days for tourism purposes.
Bengzon pointed out the DOT is pushing for fewer visa restrictions for the said foreign markets, given their growth potential.
He said both the Chinese and Indian markets are growing fast in terms of visitor arrivals and these tourists usually visit in groups.
“They are the lowhanging fruit for Philippine tourism,” he noted.
Latest data from the DOT showed visitor arrivals from China jumped by 52.65 percent to 481,218 from January to April 2018.
While arrivals from India increased by 20.36 percent to 43,020 during the said period.
DOT is targeting to hit 12 million foreign visitors and increasing domestic tourists to 89.2 million by 2022, the end of President Duterte’s term.
Earlier, Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat stressed that Cebu is going to play a key role in the country's push the increase its foreign tourists given its new international airport.
The Terminal 2 of the Mactan-Cebu International Airport, the country’s second busiest and biggest airport, is set to start commercial operations on July 1.
It will serve international flights the Terminal 1 will solely be devoted to domestic travels.
MCIA's T2 is designed to serve an annual average of 12.5 million passengers.
The airport's new passenger terminal is projected to invite more foreign visitors into Cebu and other Philippine destinations.
More airlines are likewise expected to mount direct flights from Cebu to overseas destinations.