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DOT seeks establishment of ASEAN visa

The Department of Tourism (DOT) has expressed interest in the possible establishment of a visa system for member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). During the SKIFT Asia Forum 2025 in Bangkok, Thailand last Thursday, Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco said the proposal to have an ASEAN visa similar to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) visa in the Middle East and the Schengen visa in Europe, is aligned with the ASEAN tourism tagline: 'A destination for every dream.' '[T]he ASEAN visa certainly is part of that dream. To be able to unify the ASEAN as a destination in terms of the strength of its natural assets, its unparalleled warmth and hospitality as a people, and as a culture, and in terms of the quality of experiences that we are able to offer, is one that is aspirational for us in the Philippines,' Frasco said. 'And as a Minister of Tourism, it is a proposition that I have tried to make at every opportunity. I am glad to hear similar interest from our fellow ASEAN nations, and we are very hopeful that the subject matter will again come up as the Philippines hosts the ASEAN in 2026,' she added. \ Frasco also underscored the importance of regional unity while maintaining a healthy competition with fellow Southeast Asian countries. 'Competition is always very healthy, but collaboration is healthier in a sense that ASEAN coming together to work as a force for good for the world would really benefit all of our countries,' she said. President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. previously signed an administrative order stating that it was agreed in September 2023 by the regional bloc that the Philippines will be the chairman of the ASEAN and hold its summit meetings in 2026. Frasco also acknowledged a decline in Chinese visitor arrivals to the Philippines in recent years 'due to various factors.' Despite this, she said that the DOT has learned to attract other potential sources of tourism for the country. 'The lesson that we learned from that is to really be able to diversify our dependency into other markets as well,' the DOT chief said. "And so now, we are targeting markets such as the Middle East and the GCC, as well as India, and of course, to strengthen further our source markets from South Korea, Japan, the United States, as well as Europe,' she added. —Giselle Ombay/RF, GMA Integrated News