Philippines wants visa-free arrivals at Boracay and Palawan gateways as Indian numbers jump 32%

The proposal

The Philippine Department of Tourism is seeking to extend visa-free entry beyond Manila and Cebu to four more gateways: Clark, Caticlan, Bohol and Palawan. This is a departmental push rather than a decision — nothing has changed yet, and no timeline has been published.

The context is a recovering arrivals picture. Total foreign arrivals from January to August 2026 reached 3.7 million, up 3.7 per cent. Chinese arrivals rose 69.15 per cent to 310,088.

Where India sits

Indian travellers are now the tenth-largest source market for the Philippines, with 77,883 arrivals in the January–August period, up 32.2 per cent year on year. That is still below the pre-pandemic peak of 134,963, so the market is recovering rather than breaking new ground — but a third more Indian visitors in a year is a substantial move, and it follows the extension of visa-free entry to Indian tourists.

What travellers need to know

The practical point today is the one that has not changed: visa-free entry for Indians works through Manila and Cebu. If you fly into any other Philippine airport, that facility does not apply, and most Indian itineraries to Boracay or Palawan therefore route through Manila or Cebu and connect onward domestically.

If the expansion happens, the saving is a domestic connection each way on the two most-booked beach itineraries — Caticlan is the airport for Boracay, and Palawan covers El Nido and Coron. We will report it when a decision is announced rather than when it is proposed.

Sources

This report is based on the following published sources. Rules and schedules change — confirm with the issuing authority before you travel.

• DOT seeks wider China visa-free entry as arrivals surge 69% — BusinessMirror, 01 September 2026