THE hospitality sector in Cebu has backed the plan of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to end the “visa upon arrival” privilege granted to Chinese tourists.
Sought for comment on Friday, Aug. 2, 2019, Hotel, Resort and Restaurant Association of Cebu (HRRAC) president Carlo Suarez said they are happy with the decision.
On July 31, DFA Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. proposed that visiting Chinese nationals should undergo vetting process before being issued a visa, contrary to the current scheme of granting them “visas on arrival.”
“We need to put an end to visas upon arrival; all visas should be issued by consular offices after vetting. We must take extra care in outsourcing any part of the visa application process, picking only the most reputable worldwide,” Locsin said.
His remarks came after National Security adviser Hermogenes Esperon described the influx of Chinese nationals a “security risk.”
Malacañang on Aug. 1, raised concern over the seeming influx of Chinese nationals in the Philippines.
In a press conference, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said the Immigration officials should take appropriate actions to address the growing number of Chinese nationals in the country.
“[We are] worried kasi nga masyadong maraming [Chinese nationals]. May influx na magtataka ka bakit nakakapasok sila. So hindi lang namin worry ‘yung number, ang worry mo pa kung paano sila nakakapasok. Binabantayan ba natin to o hindi?” Panelo said.
“The Immigration will have to do something about the entry of foreign nationals in this country, whether or not they are Chinese,” he added.
A total of 3.12 million Chinese citizens entered the Philippines from January 2016 to May 2018, according to the Bureau of Immigration.
Asked if the Palace considers the presence of Chinese tourists in the country as a security risk, Panelo said: “Eh kung masyadong marami na (if there are too many).” He did not say what is considered as “too many”.
Panelo said the Palace was amenable to Locsin’s proposal.
“I agree with Secretary Locsin. Kailangan talaga vine-vet. Kasi kapag tayo humihingi ng visa, nahihirapan din tayong kumuha ng visa sa mga iba’t ibang bansa because they vet. Tinitignan muna nila,” he said.
Suarez, who leads a group of hospitality players in Cebu, noted the increasing number of Chinese travelers in Cebu.
Chinese in Cebu
But while the rising number of Chinese visitors boosted tourism spending, Suarez pointed out only about 40 percent of them stay in hotels.
He said Chinese travelers visiting Cebu are usually those who belong to the low to middle class.
High-spending Chinese tourists or the “rich” ones frequent to other countries in Southeast Asia like Vietnam.
“Most of the Chinese tourist arriving in Cebu is a mix market, including gamblers, English as a Second Language students and some 60 percent are staying in condominiums or Airbnb,” Suarez pointed out.
In recent months, Cebu saw the opening of several direct flights to China, which is now the fastest growing tourism market for Cebu.
That trend has led to the increasing number of visitors from mainland China to Cebu.
In 2018, China was the second foreign source market in Central Visayas with 621,993 tourists, a 44.28-percent growth from 2017’s 429,306 arrivals.
Cebu has direct connections to 12 cities in mainland China.
Under the current procedure, the Philippines has a visa upon arrival process for qualified visiting Chinese.
“So we curtail visas on arrival which means: visitor not vetted in our consulates abroad; planes have passengers without visas thereby incurring US Homeland Security wrath. We have to stop stamping visas on slips of paper rather than foreign passports. We need a new visa stamp,” Locsin said. / (CSL with SunStar Philippines)