Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 1) – The French government saw an increase of Filipino tourists to France based on the number of visa issuances they have made in recent years.
In an interview with CNN Philippines, French Ambassador to the Philippines Michèle Boccoz said the tourism sector and people-to-people exchanges between Manila and Paris are booming and recovering from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We have more French tourists coming here, we have more and more Filipino tourists coming to France. We see it by the number of visas that we deliver. There’s a really very, very high increase. Now we have an increase by months by 25%,” said Boccoz.
The French envoy added that the economic cooperation between the Philippines and France would also mean more job opportunities for Filipinos and more chances for French businessmen to visit the Philippines.
“There are many very important exchanges. We also want to have Philippine investment in France so that more Fiipinos will be more present in French companies in our country, and we will work on that very very much.”
The French ambassador also welcomed the possibility of opening Manila-to-Paris direct flights soon, which is expected to further boost the tourism industry from both sides.
“We’re really happy with this because at the moment, you cannot fly direct to France,” Boccoz said. “So having a direct operation is absolutely essential also to make our relationships closer.”
