MANILA, 5 December 2024: The Philippines is ready to capture India’s rising outbound market, the Department of Tourism (DOT) reported earlier this week as the country fully implements its new e-Visa system in India.
The development of the e-visa system in the Philippines began in 2019, with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) partnering with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) to design and implement the system.
The system was initially launched in a pilot phase in 2021, with a limited number of visa types and eligible nationalities. The pilot phase was successful, and the DFA announced in 2023 that the e-visa system would be launched to the public in the third quarter of the year. However, implementing the e-visa system in India took longer to activate and achieve a fully automated status.
After a successful soft launch and beta testing in August 2023, the DFA officially launched the e-visa operations at the Philippine Embassy in New Delhi and all three Philippine Honorary Consulates in India (Chennai, Kolkata and Mumbai) on 28 October 2024.
In an interview on the sidelines of the two-day Philippine Dive Experience in Anilao, Batangas, the Philippines News Agency reported that the Philippines Department of Tourism’s Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco welcomed the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) issuance of e-Visas to Indian nationals, saying local destinations are ready to welcome more Indian travellers.
“We welcome the announcement of the Department of Foreign Affairs on the full automation of the electronic visa system for India,” she told PNA. “This is something that the administration has been working on for some time, and we greatly appreciate all the efforts to launch this, especially since we’re looking at India as a very robust outbound market for the Philippines.”
According to India-based consultancy firm Nangia NXT, India’s outbound travel will grow, earning USD55.39 billion in tourist receipts by 2034. The number of Indians travelling overseas should increase to 50 million in 2030.
“The Philippines has been ready for quite some time, and we are very eager to open up the doors to the Indian market,” said the tourism secretary. The Philippines has been in talks with the Indian government since 2023 to develop this market and cater to its travelling public through this e-visa initiative and the possibility of attracting more flights to the Philippines,” PNA reported.
Israeli Tourism Minister meets DOT chief
Meanwhile, the Philippines Department of Tourism welcomed Israeli Tourism Minister Haim Katz on Tuesday, 3 December 2024, for a bilateral meeting at the DOT Office in Makati City.
The meeting coincided with Minister Katz’s official visit to the Philippines. It was highlighted by signing a Joint Declaration of Intent on Cooperation in the Field of Tourism.
“Today, we have signed with Israel a joint declaration of intent to cooperate in the field of tourism, recognizing that tourism is a force for good in this world that allows us to continue relationships that have been there for generations and can only serve to be strengthened through an exchange of culture, peaceful dialogue, as well as opportunities for expansion in terms of providing livelihood to those that depend on the tourism industry,” said Secretary Frasco in her remarks at the signing ceremony.
(SOURCE: PNA and DOT)
