A Manila-based property and tourism consultant said this week that the Philippine government should consider easing visa restrictions for Chinese tourists in the wake of the President’s ban on all POGO operations across the country.
Alfred Lay of Leechiu Property Consultants told reporters at the Hotel Sales and Marketing Association (HSMA) general membership meeting in Manila that the POGO ban should provide an opportunity for the Philippines to boost genuine tourism from China, which unlike other source markets has failed to recover to anywhere pre-pandemic levels.
“The visa is one of several impediments for the Chinese tourists to come here,” Lay told Philippine News Agency. “They have also stricter currency outgoing capital flows and that’s not only related to the Philippines but also to our neighboring countries.
“But the more we can remove the barriers, the ease of travel to the Philippines will improve and that’s the overall aim.”
According to Lay, one of the reasons visa rules on Chinese nationals are stricter than on many others is because of concerns that people were using tourist visas “as a way of entering the Philippines to then join the POGO market”.
“Once the closure of all the POGOs has happened, the government can consider easing visa restrictions for Chinese arrivals, which will put us on par with our Southeast Asian neighbors and allow us to attract more Chinese visitors,” he said.
While he believes the Philippines should target any source market that it can grow quickly, such as the Middle East, Hong Kong, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia, and India, “In the long-term, China has to be a significant part of our tourism picture,” he said.
“Our top source markets are always where you should look because there’s already an existing link between those countries and it’s easier to grow an existing base than to start new source markets.”
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr announced the ban on POGOs during his State of the Nation Address last month, under which no new Internet Gaming Licenses (IGLs) – previously known as POGOs – may be issued and all existing licensed must be wound back by the end of the year.
PAGCOR Chairman and CEO Alejandro Tengco has since told lawmakers that the regulator would not distinguish between POGOs and IGLs in enforcing the ban, confirming the licenses of the 43 existing licensees would be cancelled by the end of the year.
Leading industry lawyer and consultant Vladaimir F. Bedural told IAG that industry suppliers will also have to justify their existence to PAGCOR and prove they are servicing non-POGO companies if they wish to remain in the country.
The Chinese Embassy in the Philippines stated recently that China welcomes the ban, claiming the decision represents the best common interests of the people of both countries.
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