MANILA: President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has ordered government agencies to streamline e-visa processing for Indian nationals to further boost tourism in the country.
Marcos issued the directive Wednesday during the 6th meeting of the Private Sector Advisory Council (PSAC) Tourism Sector Group at the Malacañan Palace.
“We don’t have any such issues [with India]. So, I’m sure we can use their system,” Marcos was quoted as saying in a Presidential Communications Office (PCO) news release.
During the meeting, PSAC-Tourism Sector Group member and LT Group president and chief executive officer Lucio Tan told the President that under the current e-visa system, Indian nationals are still required to make a personal appearance before the Philippine Embassy in New Delhi, reducing the efficiency of Manila’s e-visa system.
Tan said e-visa processing for Indian tourists can take around a month, making the Philippines less appealing as their destination.
To address this, the PSAC recommends engaging a third party se
rvice provider to establish and maintain the e-visa system under the guidance of the relevant government agencies.
“This will ensure that the program 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,” Tan said.
To date, the e-visa system for Indian nationals is still in beta testing, piloted only for walk-in clients of the Philippine Embassy in New Delhi.
The PSAC-Tourism Sector Group said Indian nationals are ‘repeat visitors’ who spend an average of eight nights and spend USD100 per person per day in the Philippines.
It added that some 78 percent of Indian nationals stay in hotels while their activities include shopping, sightseeing, beach holidays, diving, visiting friends and relatives, and investing in business, activities that positively impact the tourism industry.
The group said India’s fast-growing economy and rising
middle class are projected to help outbound trips reach 30 million by 2025.
Source: Philippines News Agency
