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MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang on Tuesday urged Filipinos bitten by the travel bug to consider Philippine tourist destinations if they couldn’t get visa appointment slots for Japan, which are reportedly becoming harder to book of late.
Palace press officer Claire Castro said she had already coordinated with the Department of Tourism (DOT) and the Department of Foreign Affairs regarding the concern of some tourism stakeholders about the difficulty in securing visa application slots for Japan travelers.
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“But in the meantime, while they are waiting for their visas to be issued by Japan… maybe it would be better for our countrymen to explore the Philippines,” Castro said.
“Let us also give Philippine tourism a boost,” she said, adding that travel agencies in the country would “also earn more” from a boom in local tourism.
READ: Camarines Sur draws most visitors in Bicol – DOT
Still a big turnoff for local travelers, however, is the high cost of domestic flights, a concern raised by a senator recently.
Batanes pricier than HK
In December last year, Sen. Erwin Tulfo renewed his call for cheaper domestic airfares to make the Philippines more competitive or attractive as a destination compared to other Southeast Asian countries.
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“Our people would rather go to Hong Kong or Taiwan because a one-way ticket to Batanes or a one-way ticket to Tawi-Tawi is more expensive than a round-trip ticket to Hong Kong,” Tulfo said during the Senate plenary debates on the proposed DOT budget for 2026.
In August 2025, the Department of Transportation had to call airline companies to a meeting to determine why a round-trip ticket to top local destinations, such as Siargao, had reached up to P30,000—almost the same level as some foreign destinations. —LUISA CABATO
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