President Ferdinand R Marcos Jr. recently stated that the government aims to expand the availability of electronic visas (e-Visas) to a larger group of foreign visitors. This initiative specifically targets implementing changes for certain countries, notably India.
During discussions in March, Secretary Christina Frasco of the Department of Tourism (DOT) collaborated with immigration officials to explore ways to enhance visas, with the goal of stimulating tourism.
Secretary Frasco highlighted the potential of countries like China and India to attract more tourists and suggested investigating the possibility of introducing e-Visas for citizens from these countries.
Tourism data for 2022 demonstrated that India was the eighth largest source of foreign visitors, with 51,542 arrivals, while China had welcomed over 1.7 million visitors prior to the onset of the pandemic.
Philippines e-Visa expansion, Tourism boost plan, Visa eligibility enhancement, Philippine tourism strategy, e-Visa for tourism