Hong Kong advisory not new

MANILA -- The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) clarified Tuesday morning that the travel advisory issued by Hong Kong against the Philippines is just a technical upgrade on its warning issued last August.

DFA spokesperson Ed Malaya, however, said that the “black travel alert” issued by Hong Kong is surprising because a number of countries that earlier issued travel warnings against the Philippines already lowered their advisories.

To recall, six countries -- United States, United Kingdom, New Zealand, Canada, France and Australia -- issued advisories due to “imminent” terrorist attacks in the country.

Hong Kong also issued a black alert hours after the bloody August 23 bus hostage fiasco in Quirino Grandstand in Manila.

Malaya said consulate officials consulted their counterparts in Hong Kong early Monday night regarding the advisory.

The Hong Kong officials, he added, assured them that the black alert is just a technical upgrade of its earlier warning, thus it should not be called a new black travel advisory.

He also said that tourist arrivals continue to rise this year.

As of November 8, there were already 2.5 million tourist arrivals in the country, higher than the 2.1 million last year, said the DFA. (Sunnex)