Makati city: The Department of Tourism (DOT) is hoping to expand the coverage of an existing visa-free arrangement for Chinese tourists to more gateways across the country. In an interview in Makati City on Tuesday, Tourism Secretary Dita Angara-Mathay said the proposal is part of its push to increase arrivals from key markets as it aims to reach more than six million inbound visitors by the end of 2026.

According to Philippines News Agency, Angara-Mathay explained that the department is working on extending the visa arrangement with China to include not only Cebu and Manila but also other regions. "We're working on the visa arrangement with China to cover not only Cebu and Manila but other areas. So, if we're going to get all the other agencies (to) sign up on this, then we can expect a lot more chartered flights from China and a lot more arrivals," she stated.

Once the proposal receives approval, the visa-free entry coverage will expand to include Bohol, Palawan, Clark, and Caticlan. Angara-Mathay emphasized the rigorous efforts being put into this initiative, highlighting a comprehensive position paper underscoring the economic impact, supported by hard data. "We're working very hard, and we came up with a nice position paper that not only puts in the economic impact, and that's supported by hard data," she noted.

Chinese nationals currently enjoy a 14-day visa-free entry to the Philippines through the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Metro Manila and the Mactan-Cebu International Airport in Cebu. From January to August, inbound travelers from China reached 310,088, marking a 69.15 percent increase compared to the same period last year, based on the latest data from the DOT.

Among the Philippines' top 10 source markets for foreign visitors from January to August, China and India recorded the highest growth rates in arrivals, at 69.15 percent and 32.2 percent, respectively. Similar to China, travelers from India were previously granted visa-free privileges by the Philippine government.