Ahead of the Philippines’ hosting of the 2026 ASEAN Summit, its tourism secretary announced the country’s support of the proposed unified visa system for member nations.
During a media briefing held at the Department of Tourism (DOT)’s headquarters in Makati City yesterday, 31st July, tourism secretary Christina Frasco assured fellow ASEAN ministers that the Philippines will solidly support efforts leading to the creation of a unified regional visa.
Frasco declared: “As early as the very first ASEAN meeting that I attended as Tourism Secretary, I expressed the Philippines’ desire to benefit from a unified ASEAN visa. Of course, this is entirely up to the agreements of the nations. We maintain our stance in terms of desiring an ASEAN visa without compromising national security.”
Worth discussing
Earlier this year, Frasco pointed out that other Southeast Asian countries also showed interest in a unified visa scheme, which is inspired by the European Schengen visa and the Gulf Cooperation Council’s joint visa.
She expressed hope that the topic would be revisited as the Philippines assumes the ASEAN chairmanship in 2026.
Meanwhile, the official said preparations are underway for the overall Philippine hosting of the ASEAN meetings next year.
Frasco said: “The Philippines hosting the ASEAN in 2026 will be a very big boost to tourism for the country, and on the side of the Department of Tourism, we are very excited that the very first ASEAN meetings will be about tourism, with the ASEAN Tourism Forum slated to be held at the end of January 2026.”
