Longer fun in the Philippines

IN AN EFFORT to stimulate foreign tourism, the Bureau of Immigration has recently amended its guidelines on visa-free entry into the Philippines. This past August, visa-free entry privileges of foreign nationals from 151 countries with bilateral agreements or diplomatic ties with the Philippines have been extended from 21 days to 30.

Under the new policy, nationals from the list of non-restricted countries travelling to the Philippines for business or leisure are allowed to enter the country without an entry visa and stay for a maximum period of 30 days. Foreigners may avail of the visa-free privilege if they hold valid outbound tickets and passports that are valid for a period of at least 6 months beyond the contemplated period of stay in the Philippines.

In general, the 30-day visa-free stay may be extended. The first extension will be valid for 29 days. Thereafter, succeeding extensions for one or two months can be secured. Any foreigner whose total period of stay in the Philippines has exceeded one and one-half years will be required to secure approval from the Commissioner of the Bureau of Immigration for an additional extension of his authorized period of stay.

As far as restricted nationals are concerned (i.e., those not from the 151 listed countries), they will still be required to secure an entry visa from the appropriate Philippine Embassy or Consulate abroad before they can be allowed to enter the country.

With the longer visa-free entry stay, the government can expect an increase in visitor arrivals and tourist spending in the Philippines. In economic terms, this translates to a more dynamic growth in trade, capital investment and employment. As a robust industry, Philippine tourism has been able to generate an average of $2.48 billion per annum during the five-year period from 1993-1997. Based on the economic impact research of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), the industry has contributed P194.7 billion to the Philippine economy in 2011 or 2.0% of the country’s GDP. In 2011 alone, the Philippines generated P159.9 billion in visitor exports or total spending within the country by international tourists for both business and leisure trips. It is expected to attract 5,238,000 international tourist arrivals by 2022, generating expenditure of P417.3 billion.

As for employment, the travel and tourism industry was able to contribute 3,547,500 jobs in 2011 or 9.6% of total employment. When apportioned, 778,000 of these jobs deal directly with tourists, while a greater margin is created in allied industries. Travel and tourism includes jobs from hotels, restaurants and airlines, grand tour and excursion companies, catering trade, travel agents, tour operators, cruise ship operators, specialized retailing, ancillary airport employment and taxi services. Other than jobs created directly by travel and tourism, this employment opportunity ripples to other sectors of the economy as well. For instance, indirect impact is felt in the manufacturing and wholesale/retail trade sectors that benefit from the supply-chain effect, and in the construction sector, which posted revenue returns from investment spending for new tourism assets and leisure facilities. By 2022, tourism is forecasted to support 4,448,000 jobs or 9.5% of the country’s total employment (Travel and Tourism Economic Impact 2012: Philippines, WTTC).

To an average Filipino, job generation may signify a more inclusive participation in the economic wealth of the nation. This could mean a more equitable distribution of income trickling down to the masses rather than being concentrated to a few. With employment comes sustainable household income. In the economic equation, such financial advancement brings improved living standards -- a catalyst to societal transformation from the depths of poverty.

Only time can tell if the liberalization of tourist entry policies will bring in the needed revenue to boost the economy. As for now, tourism remains as the sunshine industry to contend with. With an extended 30-day visa free privilege, a longer sojourn by foreign visitors may bring substance to the government’s tourism campaign, “It’s more fun in the Philippines”.

Harold S. Ocampo is a director at the tax services department of Isla Lipana & Co., the Philippine member firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers global network. Readers may send feedback to harold.s.ocampo@ph.pwc.com.

Views or opinions presented in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Isla Lipana & Co. The firm will not accept any liability arising from such article; the author will be personally liable for any consequent damages or other liabilities.

source:  Businessworld