CLARK FREEPORT – Despite growing tension between China and the Philippines over territorial issues, the government plans to implement here a visa-upon-arrival scheme to lure more Chinese tourists into the country.
Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC) President-CEO Victor Jose Luciano said the scheme wherein Chinese nationals could fly into the country as tourists and be given visa only upon arrival at the Clark International Airport (CIA) here.
“It’s the first time that such a scheme is being implemented in the Philippines and it will be piloted here at Clark,” he said. Luciano said that the Bureau of Immigration (BI) will grant them visa lasting 14 days.
“There are about 100 million Chinese tourists who travelled overseas last year, and this is an opportunity to attract more Chinese travellers to visit the country,” Luciano told reporters during a forum of the 4th General Assembly Meeting of the Hotels and Restaurants Association of Pampanga held in nearby Angeles City.
The Clark International Airport is currently undergoing rehabilitation and upgrading as part of plans to make it as alternative airport to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in Manila. The Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) tapped the services of the French firm Aeroports De Paris for the feasibility study for the proposed P7.2 billion Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) her
