Your travel to the Philippines will get easier as the country is launching a new e-visa system for international visitors.
According to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), the system is expected to be inaugurated before the third quarter of 2023 ends. Talking about this new development, Undersecretary for Civilian Security and Consular Affairs, Jesus Domingo said that the new e-visa will let foreigners, who want to visit the country, apply for the relevant visas online, as reported by Philippines News Agency (PNA).
More details about the Philippines e-visa
Domingo said, “This will make the visa application process easier, faster, more efficient, and convenient for foreign nationals who wish to visit the Philippines for leisure and business purposes,” states PNA. The e-visa system for the Philippines is being developed by the DFA along with the Department of Information and Communications Technology, adds the report.
According to reports, China was the country with the second-highest number of visitors to the Philippines with 1.7 million tourists in 2019 (before the COVID-19 pandemic), and South Korea was at the top. With the new development, Philippine Ambassador to China, Jaime FlorCruz, says that he hopes it will attract more Chinese tourists and students to the Philippines. He says, “The outbound travel is modest and I think we’re getting a good share of that. But reality is that the Chinese are not yet traveling out of China with full force as they used to.” He adds, “Anecdotally, when I travelled in the airport two days ago, the International Airport of Beijing was probably 20 percent it’s normal traffic (sic).”
However, even though the number of Chinese travellers to the Philippines has not yet reached pre-pandemic numbers, demand for visas is still high, writes PNA. The e-visa facility is expected to boost tourism further as travellers will no longer have to visit embassies to get their visa, letting more travellers plan their trips stress-free.
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Related: Things You Need To Know About The Philippines Before Visiting
Written By
Anushka Goel
Anushka has previously worked with publications such as the Times of India and Being Indian. A graduate from Xavier Institute of Communications, she specialises in entertainment, food and travel. She also likes to write about sustainability and beauty. When not working, you can catch her reading a book, tending to her plants, cooking or playing an instrument.
