PH, China to sign MOU on tourism cooperation

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines and China will sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on tourism cooperation that is expected to boost Chinese tourist arrivals in the country.

Philippine Tourism Secretary Wanda Teo and China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) Chairman Li Jinzao will sign the MOU in the presence of President Rodrigo Duterte and China President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Thursday, October 20.

Duterte arrived in Beijing Tuesday night, October 18, for a 4-day state visit centered on boosting economic and trade ties with the regional giant. Teo is part of his official delegation.

Teo said she will meet with potential tourism investors and Chinese tour operators while in Beijing.

“We’d like them to rediscover the Philippines, the bountiful trade and industrial hub where the Chinese traders came to long before Spanish colonization,” she said.

China is among the Philippines’ biggest tourism markets. Despite the sea dispute with the Philippines, Chinese arrivals to the country peaked at 490,841 in 2015 – 24%  higher than in 2014. (READ: FAST FACTS: South China Sea dispute)

Government data showed that 422,801 Chinese tourists visited the Philippines from from January to July this year – the third biggest market for the period, after South Korea and the United States.

Teo said more organized tours from mainland China are set to visit the Philippines in the next two months.

The Department of Tourism is eyeing 12 million tourist arrivals by 2022.

Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Zhao Jianhua earlier said that China will lift its two-year-old travel warning against the Philippines following the China visit of Duterte.

China issued a travel warning against the Philippines in September 2014, citing its “worsened security situation.” This came a week after Philippine authorities arrested 3 men over an alleged plot to bomb the Chinese embassy, Chinese businesses, and Manila’s international airport.

Zhao had said he is eyeing one million Chinese tourists to the Philippines by the end of 2017. He said each Chinese tourist is known to spend an average of $1,000 on shopping alone per visit, so a million Chinese tourists can contribute $1 billion to the Philippine economy. – Rappler.com