The Philippines’ Tourism Secretary, Dita Angara-Mathay, is pushing to expand the country’s 14-day visa-free program for Chinese tourists to more gateways, including Clark, after reporting a significant growth in visitation from China during the eight months of 2026.
In comments to local media at an event this week, Angara-Mathay said the program – currently in place for arrivals through Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Metro Manila and Mactan-Cebu International Airport in Cebu – had resulted in a 69.15% year-on-year rise in Chinese visitors between January and August, representing the largest jump of any major source market.
As such, she now wants to expand the program to entry points in places Clark, Caticlan, Palawan and Bohol, according to a report by the Inquirer.
“We’re working on the visa arrangement with China to cover not only Cebu and Manila but other areas. If we’re going to get all the other agencies to sign up on this, then we can expect a lot more chartered flights from China and a lot more arrivals,” Angara-Mathay said.
“We’re working very hard, and we came up with a nice position paper that not only puts in the economic impact, and that’s supported by hard data.”
On the recent rise in Chinese visitors, she added, “Can you imagine if you expand to cover more areas?”
Visitation from China had slumped dramatically in recent years, in part due to the eradication of the POGO industry which had employed thousands of Chinese workers.
The absence of POGO is also known to have impacted the VIP rooms of Philippine casinos, once popular hangouts for cashed-up POGO executives.
Clark, one of potential beneficiaries of an expanded visa-free policy, is home to Hann Casino Resort, Royce Hotel & Casino, D’Heights, Casino Plus and Midori Clark Hotel and Casino.
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