By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo / Special to the BusinessMirror
THE depreciated peso seems to be of no concern to revenge travelers, as outbound travel agencies rack up bookings to nearby Asean countries, North America, and Europe.
This developed as Tokyo advised tourists to secure enough travel insurance to cover for any possible medical expenses while visiting Japan. Failure to pay hospitalization expenses will affect a tourist’s future application for a visa.
In an interview with the BusinessMirror, Ritchie Tuaño, chairman and general manager at Asiareps Travel Services Inc., “The interest of most people to break the travel hiatus supersedes the concern on cost…based on the sheer number of outbound travels. The depreciating peso is even coupled with the higher airfare than usual due to the increased demand since not all airlines have returned to their seat capacity offerings, pre-pandemic.”
He said Filipinos are traveling to Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. He noted, however, “The embassy of Korea in Manila cannot cope with the demand for visas, and with Hong Kong still with restrictions, albeit relaxed, Singapore became the alternative.”
He added, for his agency, these bookings represent a 100-percent increase in demand from last year, “and we have two months to go, so it’s a major turnaround, and a lot earlier than expected.” Most of Asiareps clients, Tuaño said, are families booking trips, individuals, and “a little of group of travelers” like friends.
Outbound travel expenses up 31%
Data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas showed outbound travel expenditures (i.e., travel imports) surged by some 31 percent to US$1,979 million in the first half of the year, confirming that Filipinos are traveling and spending in their destinations of choice.
The peso closed to an all-time low of P59 to the dollar on October 3, but has since recovered to P58.55 on November 4. The local currency is trading stronger though at 0.3959 Japanese yen, and 0.0412 Korean won, which makes it an advantage for Filipinos traveling to Japan and South Korea.
For her part, Michelle Thyland, president of the Philippine Travel Agencies Association shared, “The most popular destinations for Pinoys since borders reopened are Turkey, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, the United States, Canada, Australia, France and other European countries.”
She also predicted Morocco as the next popular destination for Filipinos, after PTAA had a familiarization tour. “With Morocco’s unique arts, culture, and beauty, I am sure that it will attract many visitors,” she added, saying Filipinos don’t require a visa to visit there. “It’s also very affordable to most travelers.”
Insurance for Japan
Meanwhile, in a news statement, the Japan Tourism Agency, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Japan advised tourists to adhere to “infection prevention measures” such as wearing of masks, disinfection of hands, and avoiding the “Three Cs (closed spaces, crowded places, close-contact settings).”
The agency also recommended that visitors purchase adequate medical insurance to cover hospitalizations, especially those due to Covid-19, as “there is a possibility that the medical expenses will be quite expensive.” It cited as examples that tourists may have to spend up to 6 million yen on surgery or hospitalization resulting from a heart attack, plus an additional 4 million yen to be transported back to one’s home country.
“Foreigners who fail to pay medical expenses may not be permitted entry into Japan in the future,” warned JTA. Emergency and medical consultation hotlines for tourists in English are available at https://bit.ly/2S1T7hL
According to an investigation by Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare, in October 2018 alone, “approximately 20 percent of Japanese hospitals that accepted foreign patients had experience of patients not paying fees. Furthermore, out of the 3,156 such cases, 23 percent of them involved foreign visitors. This finding then directly led to the Japanese government’s enforcement of stricter immigration screening of foreign visitors with history of failing to pay medical fees, in order to prevent recurrences, starting in May 2021.”
Image credits: Stella Arnaldo