Amid the post-pandemic travel boom worldwide, issues such as stringent visa policies and limited flight capacities remain as hurdles detering the full recovery of the travel and tourism industries, according to global travel service firm Trip.com.
In a media interview on April 17, Trip.com Managing Director and Vice President of International Markets Boon Sian Chai said that macroissues like visa restrictions and flight capacity in most countries have not yet reverted to pre-pandemic levels.
For the Philippines, in particular, the movement of Chinese nationals has been important for the tourism sector since China has been a major source of inbound travelers to the country for years.
As per Trip.com, individuals from the Chinese mainland are among the top bookers for visits to the Philippines, alongside the United States and Koreans.
Due to the pandemic, only 244,000 visitors from China were recorded in 2023 compared to the 1.6 million visitors logged in an 11-month period in 2019, according to Leechiu Property Consultants' 2024 report.
Trip.com Philippines Senior Market Director Fiona Pan said that Chinese inbound travel to the Philippines is still "very low" due to the visa policies, which she described were "stricter than before and the fees to apply the visa are, for instance, four times more expensive."
At present, face-to-face interviews are required for a Chinese person to get a visa, which differed from pre-pandemic policy that did not require onsite interviews in the application process, she added.
"But the good news is, for the China passport holders with valid Japanese, US, Schengen, Australian, or Canada visa, they can use that visa to enter the Philippines," said Pan.
Aside from visa restrictions, Chai emphasized that airlines and economies are still recovering from the effects of the pandemic and working to restore their flight capacity to full optimization.
"Linked to flight capacity is the overall cost of flights. Increased inflation is something that's impacting the cost itself and is affecting travel in general," he added.
However, Chai said they remain optimistic about the prospect of travel in general.
"Despite the fact that hotel and flight prices have gone up globally, people are travelling more than ever. Travel is doing better than ever because of people who want to travel more," he remarked.
Chai said they are also confident and optimistic about the "vibrant" travel industry in the Philippines.
The Department of Tourism (DOT) recently shared that the country hosted over five million foreign visitors in 2023, and recorded a surplus in tourism revenues, with travel services reaching $9.1 billion, for the first time in 15 years.
"The Philippine tourism block is doing a lot to attract tourists to the Philippines. I think that's a credit to the government," remarked Chai.
Aside from the Philippines, other Southeast Asian countries are also "slighty ahead in terms of recovery," he said, citing programs implemented by the states to increase tourism such as the "visa-free" periods.
"A lot of countries are doing now is removing visa requirements. Previously, for Chinese outbound [passengers], there's a lot of visa requirements for Chinese going to different countries. For example, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand have removed the visa restrictions for inbound and outbound. People can freely travel between these countries. Also in Europe, the Chinese government has also announced visa free travel for Chinese people and for Europeans to come to China," said Chai.
According to the company's data, Trip.com Group recovered to over 80 percent of the pre-pandemic level for the full year of 2023, compared to only 60 percent in 2022. Net revenue was recorded at $6.3 billion, representing 122 percent growth, while the accomodation revenue surged by 133 percent at $2.4 billion.