On January 16, the Philippines announced: Visa-free entry for China! What's really behind it?
On the same day, the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs officially released a statement: Starting from January 16, citizens holding ordinary Chinese passports can enter the Philippines without a visa and stay for no more than 14 days. This policy applies to tourists entering through Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila and Mactan-Cebu International Airport in Cebu, and the 14-day period cannot be extended.
This is a landmark visa adjustment in the Sino-Philippine relations in recent years. In recent years, Sino-Philippine relations have been tense due to frequent friction over the South China Sea issue. At the same time, the Philippines implemented a relatively strict visa system for Chinese tourists - not only did it cancel the previous landing visa, but also required an interview, complicated documents, and long processing periods, leading to a sharp decline in the number of Chinese tourists traveling to the Philippines.
Data shows that in 2019, more than 1.7 million Chinese tourists traveled to the Philippines, while by the first nine months of 2025, this number had dropped to less than 200,000. The occupancy rates of hotels in popular tourist destinations such as Boracay and Cebu have remained below 50% for a long time, and many practitioners were forced to change careers, causing significant pressure on local economies.
Nevertheless, security issues in the Philippines cannot be ignored - in recent years, there have been frequent cases of kidnapping and extortion targeting Chinese people in some parts of the Philippines, with some incidents even ending in murder. This may weaken the travel willingness brought by the visa-free policy.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1854367984792585/
Statement: The article represents the personal views of the author.