DOT optimistic of tourism recovery through group tours by Chinese visitors

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Tourism is bullish about reaching pre-pandemic tourism arrival numbers with the arrival of Chinese visitors after China eased its outbound travel restrictions.

On Tuesday, the Philippines, led by the Department of Tourism and airport officials, held a welcome reception for about 190 arriving tourists from China. The tourists arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal on Xiamen Airlines flight MF819 on Wednesday afternoon.

Imbibing world-renowned Filipino hospitality, Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco personally welcomed the batch of visitors with China’s Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian, and Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) General Manager Cesar Chiong, Xiamen Air General Manager of Manila Office Yan Tan, in time for the celebration of the Lunar New Year.

The tourists were greeted by performances from Filipino bamboo orchestra musicians. They were also given leis and gifts from the DOT, MIAA, the Embassy of China in the Philippines, and a Filipino-Chinese private stakeholders organization.

For the tourism chief, the arrival of Chinese tourists to the Philippines “signals a very auspicious start to the New Year.” She added that it “indicates the positive result of President (Ferdinand) Bongbong Marcos Jr.’s state visit to China to further the relations between our countries.”

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, China was the second top tourist source of the Philippines after South Korea.

At that time, the Philippines recorded an 8.26 million all-time high international tourist arrivals with China contributing over 1.7 million visitors.

Given the new development, the DOT foresees a swifter tourism recovery.

“We anticipate even more Chinese tourists to arrive which will greatly help us in our efforts to transform and to recover the tourism industry as our intention is not only to regain our pre-pandemic numbers but to exceed it knowing how the relationship between the Philippines and China will only further improve in the years to come with the stance of both our governments,” Frasco said.

The Philippines is the latest country to welcome Chinese visitors after China lifted restrictions to outbound travels. Last week, Thailand and Indonesia said they are also gearing up for the influx of Chinese tourists in their tourist destinations.

Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang is as bullish as the tourism department at the potential contribution of the Chinese tourists to the economy.

“We believe that with the development of our tourism cooperation that there will be a growing number of Chinese tourists coming to the Philippines to enjoy the beauty of this country,” he said.

“The recent state visit of President (Ferdinand Marcos) to China, both presidents of China and the Philippines have agreed to make people-to-people exchanges as one of the four already areas of cooperation and of course during the visits, our tourism cooperation was actually signed so I think that today's event is also one of the measures to implement the agreement reached by our two leaders,” he added.

China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism identified the Philippines as among the 20 nations that will be pilot areas for outbound tourism group tours.

Other countries include Thailand, Indonesia, Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore, Laos, as well as Sri Lanka, the Maldives, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt, Kenya, South Africa, Russia, Switzerland, Hungary, New Zealand, Argentina, Cuba and Fiji.

Frasco is thankful for this opportunity.

“The Philippines is open and ready to welcome our friends from China as we continue to improve the relationship between our two nations which spans millennia,” the tourism chief said.

“We welcome you to the Philippines and we cannot wait to let you feel the warmth of the Filipino people and to enjoy our award-winning beach destinations and all our nature-based offerings. The Philippines is a country blessed with many islands, a wealth of cultural offerings, wonderful food, and the warmth of the Filipino people. And we look forward to all of you visiting our country,” she added.