Expert Believes POGO Ban Could Attract “Real” Chinese Tourists to PH

With the recent ban on Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs), there is renewed potential for discussions on easing visa restrictions for Chinese tourists—a move that could significantly boost the country’s tourism sector, according to industry experts.

Alfred Lay, the Director of Leechiu Hotels, Tourism, and Leisure, emphasized the importance of China as a key market that the Philippines must strive to recapture.

“It’s not just the visa but the visa is one of several impediments for the Chinese tourists to come here,” Lay stated, highlighting that stricter currency regulations in China are also affecting tourism not only to the Philippines but to other neighboring countries as well. Lay was interviewed by the Philippine News Agency during the Hotel Sales and Marketing Association (HSMA) general membership meeting held recently in Manila.

Lay pointed out that the imposition of stricter visa rules on Chinese nationals was largely due to concerns that many were using tourist visas as a means of entering the Philippines to work in the POGO industry. With the closure of POGOs, Lay suggests that the government now has the opportunity to reconsider these visa restrictions.

“Once the closure of all the POGOs has happened, the government can consider easing visa restrictions for Chinese arrivals, which will put us on par with our Southeast Asian neighbors and allow us to attract more Chinese visitors,” he said.

The Department of Tourism (DOT) has already announced plans to recalibrate its efforts to increase tourist arrivals from other key markets, including South Korea, the United States, and Japan, in response to the slow return of Chinese tourists. Lay supports this recalibration, advising that the Philippines should also focus on quickly growing markets such as the Middle East, Hong Kong, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia, and India. “But in the long-term, China has to be a significant part of our tourism picture,” Lay stressed.

Lay believes that while these alternative markets may not fully compensate for the loss of Chinese tourists in the short term, a diversified mix of tourism sources will still provide a significant advantage. He sees particular potential in the Middle East market, noting that there are already established flight routes to the Philippines from major Middle Eastern carriers, and that the cultural connection between these regions could be leveraged to attract more visitors.

The DOT is aiming to achieve 7.7 million tourist arrivals by the end of 2024, and with 3.55 million international visitors recorded so far this year, easing visa restrictions for Chinese tourists could be a crucial step in reaching that target.