BEIJING – The Department of Tourism (DOT) expects the Philippines to likely exceed its growth target of one million tourist arrivals next year given improving ties between the two countries.
Tourism Secretary Wanda Teo said said tourism stakeholders from China told her it would be easy to attract two million Chinese tourists as early as next year.
“Next year would be a good year for DOT because the tourism arrival will increase significantly. I’m only eyeing one million increase every year and with China giving us two million, then, if you have six million now plus two million, then you could have a total of eight million arrivals (next year),” Teo said.
However, the tourism chief admitted the country has a lot of room for improvement in terms of its capacity to accommodate more tourists.
She said she was urging both Chinese and local businessmen to invest in hotels and resorts in the Philippines, particularly in cities and provinces other than Manila.
Teo added the DOT, along with the Department of Foreign Affairs, would work immediately to facilitate visa application to the Philippines.
She clarified that the Philippines’ offer to provide visa-free entry to Chinese tourists still stands but this must be on a reciprocal basis.
Meanwhile, the DOT’s counterpart here, the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) saw a huge potential for tourism cooperation between the two countries.
To take advantage of this, CNTA chairman Li Jinzao suggested that the two national agencies draft a more detailed and developed plan to fully implement the memorandum of understanding (MOU) on tourism cooperation.
He also volunteered to give the Philippines the complete list of blacklisted Chinese tourists, an offer which Teo returned immediately.
Li also recommended the Philippines to host the opening ceremony of the China-ASEAN Expo before the Chinese New Year in 2017.
It was suggested that CNTA send a delegation including Chinese investors, tour operators and media to the Philippines during the event.