The Department of Tourism (DOT) is pushing to extend the Philippines’ visa-free entry program for Chinese visitors after tourist arrivals from China increased following its implementation in January.
Tourism Secretary Dita Angara-Mathay said the department has discussed the proposal with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and prepared a position paper using arrival data to support the extension.
“Right now, we’re almost half a million Chinese tourists from the time that we instituted that. So sabi namin, i-announce niyo na because gusto natin habulin ‘yong mga tourist during their Chinese holidays (We said, you should announce it already, because we want to catch the volume of tourists traveling for their Chinese holidays),” Angara-Mathay said in an interview on the sidelines of the 40th Confederation of Asia-Pacific Chambers of Commerce and Industry Conference in Parañaque City on Thursday.
She said the DOT’s position paper aims to establish a direct link between the visa-free arrangement and the increase in Chinese tourist arrivals.
Implemented on Jan. 16, the program allows Chinese nationals visiting the Philippines for business or leisure to enter without a visa and stay for up to 14 days.
The arrangement is currently valid for one year and will undergo a review before its expiration.
In an October briefing, Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said the DFA would examine whether the visa-free entry arrangement was being exploited, following concerns about illegal Philippine offshore gaming operator activities in the country.
Angara-Mathay said the government could address these concerns by strengthening monitoring mechanisms while maintaining the program for legitimate visitors.
“What you just have to do is parang (like) strengthen your monitoring. Pero may mga legitimate talagang pumapasok (But there are legitimate who are really coming in)—Chinese tourists spend more, stay longer,” she said.
Chinese nationals accounted for 394,394 inbound visitors from January to Nov. 4, making China the Philippines’ fourth-largest source market for foreign arrivals.
The figure represented a 69.78 percent increase compared with the same period last year.
In 2025, the Philippines recorded 232,299 Chinese tourist arrivals, still far below the pre-pandemic level of 1.7 million visitors from China.
The DOT’s push to extend the visa-free arrangement comes as the government weighs its tourism benefits against concerns over the possible misuse of the entry privilege.
📷 Aid Data / Website
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