THE Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Wednesday, July 12, 2023, officially launched its eServices, making immigration procedures such as applications for visa extension more efficient and convenient for foreign tourists in a boost to Philippine tourism.
“They can now swiftly and securely complete their necessary immigration applications end-to-end online,” Commissioner Norman Tansingco said during a ceremony held at the BI’s main office in Intramuros, Manila on July 12.
In a statement, the BI said those who may submit their applications online are applicants for waiver of exclusion grounds for arriving unaccompanied minors, emigration clearance certificate, and dual citizenship under Republic Act 9225, or the “Citizenship Retention and Re-acquisition Act of 2003.”
“Apart from these transactions, we are also excited to launch the online visa waiver and the tourist visa extension,” said Tansingco.
The commissioner said the online visa extension service would boost Philippine tourism as eServices allows visitors to “comply with their immigration requirements from the comfort of their own homes, hotels, or even by the beach.”
Contribution down
In 2022, tourism contributed P1.38 trillion, or 6.2 percent, to the gross domestic product (GDP) of the Philippines, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.
The Philippines has yet to return to its pre-pandemic performance when tourism contributed P2.48 trillion to the GDP in 2019, equivalent to 12.7 percent of the GDP.
The low number of flights, as well as travel hesitation amid the high global inflation environment that has pushed up fares and living costs, are among the factors that have prevented the country from bringing back tourism numbers to their previous levels.
The Philippines targets 4.8 million international visitor arrivals this year, an 80 percent jump from the 2.65 million international visitor arrivals it saw in 2022.
But this is still a far cry from the 8.26 million international visitors that the country received in 2019.
Last May 5, more than three years after coronavirus disease triggered global lockdowns and upended economies, the World Health Organization said Covid-19 no longer qualified as a global emergency, but cautioned that the pandemic had not finished, with thousands of people still dying from the virus weekly.