PH gov't committed to bring in more Chinese tourists, students
The Philippine government is committed to bringing more Chinese tourists to the country to promote people-to-people ties between the two countries.
Philippines Ambassador to China Jaime FlorCruz said Wednesday Manila is not only keen on tapping China's potential in terms of investments, but also in terms of its people.
"Of course, we want to bring more people here. We want to bring more Chinese tourists, students," he said in an interview with reporters.
FlorCruz is in Manila to lead the inaugural Consular Consultation Meeting with the Consuls General of all seven Philippine Foreign Service Posts in China (FSPs) inaugurated by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
The two-day meeting, which started July 4, discussed various consular issues and projects intended to assist the Philippine government in promoting President Marcos' economic agenda, notably in the field of visitor arrivals.
According to DFA, the meeting also reaffirmed the government's commitment to the following measures, which have already been instituted:
• Resume the processing and issuance of Philippine visas to Department of Tourism (DOT) and DFA-endorsed Chinese tour operators and their counterpart Philippine tour operators;
• Ensure zero backlog in Philippine foreign service posts' (PFPs') consular works of processing visa applications of Chinese nationals;
• Launch the inaugural "Ambassadors' Tour" in 2024—a program where all seven PFSPs in China will endeavor to bring Chinese nationals on a curated tour of the Philippines.
• Reaffirm DFA's resolve to make use of technology to facilitate the entry of legitimate visitors to the country.