Last week, the Consul General of the Philippines in Shanghai, along with the Tourism Attaché of the Philippine Department of Tourism, Mr. Bonjerry, visited Foshan. He expressed great interest in Foshan and the South China tourism market, stating that to attract more Chinese tourists to the Philippines, the Philippine Tourism Board is actively promoting visa on arrival for Chinese tourists. He said: "The reason we held a tourism promotion meeting in Foshan before the Guangzhou Travel Fair is that we are very optimistic about the tourism market in the entire South China region. We have statistics showing that the number of Chinese tourists traveling to the Philippines increased by 24% year-on-year last year, and just in January of this year, it increased by nearly 50% year-on-year. Especially in South China, the growth is the most rapid." There are some convenient measures or policies for Chinese tourists traveling to the Philippines. Firstly, it is very convenient. Recently, there have been charter flights from Guangzhou to Cebu and Boracay. China Southern Airlines and Cebu Pacific have opened direct flights to Manila. In addition, we place great importance on Chinese tourists and strive to make various services convenient for them. For example, in Bohol, almost all tourism facilities are labeled in Chinese, and attractions are equipped with Chinese-speaking guides.
Regarding visas, we are currently working hard to achieve new breakthroughs in visa policies for Chinese tourists. Currently, Chinese tourists holding one of four types of visas: United States, Schengen, Australia, and Japan, can enjoy 7 days of visa-free travel to the Philippines. Many Chinese tourists hope that the Philippines will open visa on arrival for them, and we are working towards this goal.
