President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Wednesday approved the Private Sector Advisory Council’s (PSAC) proposals to launch a shopping festival nationwide and ease the visa and immigration process to further boost the Philippine tourism.

Marcos gave his approval during a meeting with the PSAC’s tourism sector at Malacañan Palace in Manila, after it presented some of its recommendations to boost the tourism industry following the signing of Republic Act (RA) 12079 or the Value Added Tax (VAT) Refund for Non-Resident Tourists.

One of PSAC’s key recommendations is the launching of the nationwide “Shopping Festival Philippines” to coincide with the upcoming New Year’s celebrations, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said in a statement.

The PCO said the proposed shopping festival will incentivize international visitors, which is expected to propel higher spending and increased tourism revenue.

“We’ve talked about this shopping festival. Again, I think it’s properly categorized as an easy win. So, we’ll do that,” Marcos said during the meeting with PSAC, as quoted by the PCO.

Under RA 12079, tourists can claim a refund on the VAT for goods personally purchased at accredited retail outlets within 60 days, provided they meet a minimum transaction requirement of PHP3,000.

An estimated 30-percent increase in tourist spending is projected with the new law, benefitting both large-scale industries and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

Inbound tourism expenditure on shopping reached PHP137.4 billion in 2023, according to the data from the Department of Tourism.

Marcos said he sees no major obstacles with PSAC’s recommendation to ease visa access to American, Japanese, Australian, Canadian, Schengen (AJACS) and American, Japanese, Australian, Canadian, Schengen, Singapore or UK (AJACSSUK) visa holders.

He said the initiative is already “the first thing” on his agenda.

“I think we should stop messing around with this system. It’s so clear already. And again, it’s something that we don’t have to pilot because it has been done for us in many, many airports,” Marcos said.

Marcos, however, acknowledged that the recommendation must be carefully studied, particularly its security aspects.

He also ordered a thorough review of PSAC’s recommendation to enhance the immigration experience by introducing a digital identification system utilizing biometric data, such as facial recognition or fingerprint.

Marcos said improving the immigration procedures would ensure seamless transactions and secure travel processing.

“It’s just a question really of putting the systems in and getting the hardware, and then slowly educating everybody how to use that hardware. For me, it’s just a question of adopting the technology and learning how to use it. As I said, everybody else in the world is doing it already,” he said.

Marcos said the recommendations of the PSAC’s tourism sector are significant initiatives to attract more tourists to the country. (PNA)