Cultural dancers perform a traditional Philippine folk dance to entertain guests on board the Loboc River Cruise in Bohol on November 25, 2024. Benise Balaoing, ABS-CBN News

Lack of Chinese tourists seen hurting sector

MANILA -- Tourism in Bohol is back at pre-pandemic levels but other parts of the Philippines are still struggling, the owner of a hotel and resort in the province said Tuesday.

"I think, sa Bohol nga, parang pre-pandemic level na," said The Bellevue Resort Managing Director Dustin Chan.

"But unfortunately, other areas still struggling," he added.

Chan said Chinese tourists have yet to return to the Philippines.

"They're not back yet. And do they make it harder for them to come here? I think yes. With the political situation now, yes," he said.

"One word from their government, they be careful going to the Philippines. 'Don't go there,' they will listen. They will not go there," he added.

Asked if he was referring to the West Philippine Sea issue, Chan answered, "Amongst other things."

The executive said more than 80 percent of their guests pre-pandemic were Chinese. But the number of Chinese guests now is "Very little--miniscule compared to before," said The Bellevue Resort Manager Andrew Fernandes.

Fernandes added that there are more Koreans now visiting Bohol, with between 6 to 9 flights daily directly flying to the province from South Korea.

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But "Just because there are more Koreans doesn't mean the numbers even out," he added.

Chan explained that the Chinese now must visit either one of four cities--Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Chengdu--to get interviewed for a visa to travel to the Philippines.

Still, he noted that Bohol is a popular destination because it is "convenient" for tourists.

"There's no traffic yet, there's [an] international airport just here, it's only 10 to 15 minutes away," he said.

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"Kung magbo-Boracay ka, imagine-in mo, it’s like a penalty for choosing Station One, kasi lagpas Station Three yung Jetty Port eh. Tapos dadaanan mo lahat ng traffic sa gitna," Fernandes noted.

"Or when you land in Cebu you fly 1 hour to get there but drive 1 and a half hour to get to the city," he added.

Chan said the government can make the Philippines more attractive to tourists by keeping crime low. 

He also noted that the government must prevent tourism sector workers from being opportunistic and charging higher costs to tourists.

"For example, when you go to Thailand, you try to search bookings in Bangkok or somewhere--it's not very expensive, right? Because they're really regulating the prices, and when their guests have complaints, like, 'Oh this travel agency is trying to screw me,' or 'This tour is screwing me'-- the support of their local tourism and their government is so strong."

"They’re very supportive of tourism. Tourism comes first before maybe making extra more money to screw people up. Like before we had an experience there, we noticed that the travel person was bringing us to places that were too expensive. We tried to complain; they were really scared about it," he related.

The Philippines hopes to bring in 7.7 million foreign tourists to the Philippines by the end of 2024.

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