Japan to ease visa rules for Pinoy tourists

MANILA, Philippines - Local travel agencies reported yesterday that Japan would soon relax rules on the issuance of visas to Filipino tourists.

Aileen Celemente, president of the Philippine Travel Agencies Association (PTTA), said that the Japanese government is expected to ease rules on the issuance of visa to encourage more Filipino tourists to visit Japan.

Clemente said they have held dialogues with the Japanese embassy on the possible relaxation of visa application for Filipinos going to Japan.

“The Japanese embassy had promised the PTAA that it would study their current visa application procedures and will consider increasing the number of accredited travel agencies in the future,” Clemente said.

Clemente said only six travel agencies, all members of the PTAA, are currently accredited to conduct business with the Japanese embassy.

Other local travel agencies that receive visa applications for Japan have to course their applications through the six accredited travel agencies.

She expressed confidence that Filipinos would be encouraged to visit Japan once the visa requirements are relaxed.

Clemente said the PTAA is also exerting efforts to increase the number of Japanese tourists coming to the country.

She said the PTAA would prioritize the Japanese market starting next year.

“Because of its proximity, the historical and economic ties between the two countries, and the tropical amenities the Philippines can offer, it is not a stretch to project half a million Japanese tourists coming to the country annually,” Clemente said.

In the first eight months of the year, Japan ranked third in tourist arrivals with close to 10 percent of the 2.60 million total arrivals.

Under the draft National Tourism Development Plan (NTDP), Clemente said the government and private tourism agencies would work together to attract an estimated 1.77 million Japanese tourists to the country over the next five years.

The PTAA has more than 350 member travel agencies doing business nationwide with close to half of them capable of servicing both inbound and outbound travel.

“Japan is an important market and we can help further increase the number of Japanese tourists coming into the country while at the same time helping cut down on Filipinos that are illegally entering Japan,” Clemente said.