With India being one of the key tourism markets for the Philippines, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr has ordered faster e-visa processing for nationals of the South Asian country.
Currently, Indians are still required to make a personal appearance at embassies to get an e-visa and the processing takes about a month, authorities said.
This procedure should be streamlined, Marcos said as he directed that a study be conducted to ease these e-visa transactions.
Stay up to date with the latest news. Follow KT on WhatsApp Channels.
“We don’t have any such issues [with India]. So, I’m sure we can use their system,” he said as quoted in a report on the state-run Philippine News Agency (PNA).
Indian tourists stay in the Southeast Asian destination for an average of eight nights and they spend $100 per person per day, said the Private Sector Advisory Council (PSAC) Tourism Sector Group.
Some 78 per cent of them also stay in hotels. “Their activities include shopping, sightseeing, beach holidays, diving, visiting friends and relatives, and investing in business,” PSAC said.
In a statement, the Department of Tourism (DOT) said fast-tracking these visas would be a significant step towards increasing arrivals from India.
“The swift and efficient processing of e-visas for Indian visitors will undoubtedly streamline the entry procedures and provide a more welcoming environment for tourists from India,” it said.
Lucio Tan, LT Group president and CEO — and a member of PSAC Tourism Sector Group — suggested that a third-party service provider be tapped to operate the e-visa system.
“This will ensure that the programme is consistently monitored and that any challenges in the process and the system will be immediately [addressed]. This will likewise streamline the application process and thus generate more applications due to the expedite process,” he added.