Malacañang on Tuesday urged the public to explore destinations in the Philippines amid reported difficulties faced by travel agencies in securing Japanese visa appointments for their clients.

In a press briefing, Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said concerns over the alleged shortage of appointment slots for Japanese visas have been referred to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

“Pansamantala, habang sila ay naghihintay ng kanilang visa na i-issue ng bansang Japan, ito nama’y kanilang polisiya at iginagalang natin ito (Meanwhile, while they are waiting for their visas to be issued by the Japanese government, this is their policy and we respect it),” Castro said.

While the issue is being addressed, Castro encouraged travelers to visit local tourist destinations, noting that this would also help boost the domestic economy.

“Pero habang sila’y naghihintay, mas maganda sigurong i-explore ng ating mga kababayan ang Pilipinas (While they are waiting, it might be better for our countrymen to explore the Philippines),” she said.

“Iangat din natin ang turismo ng Pilipinas at kung sila ay kikita dahil sa travel tax at kita ng mga tourism agencies, mas kikita rin sila kung iaangat nila ang turismo ng Pilipinas (Let us also boost Philippine tourism, and if they earn from travel tax and the income of tourism agencies, they will earn even more by promoting tourism in the Philippines,” Castro added.

The Global Tourism Business Association, Inc. (GTBA) has sought the assistance of the Japanese Embassy over the continued shortage of appointment slots for Japanese visas.

This came after travel agents reported difficulty in helping clients secure the required documents to enter Japan.

GBTA said there was an advisory from VFS Global, the Japan embassy’s official partner for scheduling, that the next available appointment slots for a Japan visa have been moved to April. (PNA)